Digimon Adventure: The Ninth Child
by TsukiyoTenshi
Summary: When Gennai asked Tai and his friends to find the eighth DigiDestined, he'd forgotten to mention one last thing. He'd forgotten to mention that there was a Ninth Child. Just what could happen because of one more child added into the mix? New Chapter(s), "Time Off", up!
1. Book One: The New Sister

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

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Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_'The'_ – _Thoughts_

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AN: This is my first crossover fic, so don't be too harsh on me! The idea just randomly came to me while I was re-watching the episodes with my brother and I was also watching episodes of InuYasha that my brother had scheduled for recording on our DVR and I guess the idea just sort of popped up.

Now mind you, this isn't my first Digimon-InuYasha idea, and neither will it be the last. I'm only beginning with posting this one because out of all of the series, this was the simplest to work off of. And I'd rather start simple and test the waters before moving onto anything complicated.

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all! Seriously, if no one likes this, then don't bother reading it let alone sending in a rude review, I'll pay it no heed.

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**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-Prologue: A New Sister-Xx**

Three-year-old Tai Kamiya stood in khaki overalls, a blue shirt, and a pair of white socks as he looked at a girl about his age with curious brown eyes.

(AN: I'm pretty sure you all know how Tai looked as an itty bitty munchkin, so I won't bothering describing him past the clothing.)

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

The girl had short black hair held in place with a lavender headband, a fair complexion compared to the light-tan of his own, and she had the bluest eyes he'd ever seen.

She wore a lavender dress with short sleeves and a slightly puffed out skirt that had white ruffles around the neckline, hem and sleeve rims. Paired with that were a pair of white mid-calf high socks and a pair of black shoes. Clutched tightly in her arms was a white dog plushie about half her size.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Tai," Airi kamiya spoke to her son gently. "This is Kagome; she'll be living with us from now on, all right?"

Tai tilted his head slightly. "Is she gonna be my baby sissy?"

Ryo Kamiya and his wife chuckled at the innocent question. "Yeah, she is," he answered, "so be sure to take care of her, okay?"

Tai didn't say anything for a few moments, which worried the two adults, but waited for their son's responses nevertheless. They were pleasantly surprised, however, when the small boy reached a hand out and took one of Kagome's in his as he dragged her off to his room.

"Well," Ryo scratched his head lightly, "that went better than we thought it would."

"Oh stop it," Airi lightly slapped her husband's shoulder. "At least he's taken a liking to her, we should be fortunate for that."

"Yeah," Ryo smiled softly as he looked into his son's room, watching the two children play with a array of toys spread around them, "we should."

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_Adieu,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	2. Book One: The Partner

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_'The'_ – _Thoughts_

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**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!**

AN: To be honest, I haven't though very much ahead, though I have a vague idea of how I want things to go. Now, this chapter is going to be quite like the episode "Home Away From Home", I think is the title, where Tai and Koromon get sucked into the dimensional rift and are transported back to Earth on the same day they were taken to the Digital World. There won't be many changes here, but I'm doing what I can. In any case, the real changes won't be seen/read until the next chapters or so.

Oh, and I'll be using the English names since, for one, that's the one I'm the most acquainted with, though I watched both the subbed and dubbed versions.

Matt, Tai, Mimi, Sora, Kagome: 12 (Kagome's a few months younger than Tai and the rest)

Izzy: 11

Joe: 13

Kari, T.K: 7

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

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**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-The Partner-Xx**

-Nine Years Later-

Kagome smiled at her snoozing little sister as she sat at her desk, finishing up her summer homework.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Seven-year-old Kari Kamiya had short hair that was a pale-copper-brown hue in a boy-cut style, her skin was a shade darker than Kagome's, and behind closed eyelids were a pair of soft brown eyes.

She was currently in her orange flannel pajamas and tucked tightly under her covers in the bed she shared with her sister; her brother having the single bed off to the side.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

It had been nine years since the Kamiyas first brought Kagome home, and she had changed quite a bit from the shy and adorable three-year-old she had been.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Kagome's raven-hued hair had grown out to her waist with a bluish tint among the dark length with her bangs splayed across her forehead and two long strips hanging to frame her heart-shaped face, though it was currently up in a messy bun. Her skin was pale though not sickly so, and her eye hadn't changed from their icy-blue hue. As expected of any growing child, she'd also grown in height, though her height only reached up to the tips of her brother's ears.

Currently, she was wearing a pair of dark-blue pajama pants with little white moons scattered over the fabric with a light-blue tank top.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Kagome suddenly stopped writing and narrowed her eyes. The raven-haired girl turned toward the closed door of the room that she and her two siblings shared and listened carefully.

There was a barely audible click and a muffled creak of the front door opening.

_'Who could it be?'_ Kagome thought, eyes still narrowed. _'Mama and Papa went away to Grandmama's and Tai's away at camp, so who's in our house right now?'_

The twelve-year old crept closer to the door and gently pressed her ear against it, to avoid making any noise, for fear of waking her little sister up. She heard two voices, but couldn't make out what was being said, though one seemed familiar and the other not as much.

_'That couldn't be…'_ Kagome thought suspiciously. It wasn't until she heard a familiar shout that the girl jumped and landed hard on the floor, waking her sister.

"Kagome?" Kari asked slowly, rubbing her eyes. "What's going on?"

"I really don't know," Kagome shook her head. "But I think I know who's responsible…" She got up off of the floor and opened the door, Kari right behind her, to see Tai in the kitchen with what looked like a pale-pink sweet bun with wavy ears, red eyes, and small teeth poking out of its mouth.

**_Koromon..._**

The strange name popped into Kagome's mind as she looked at the pink creature.

"Tai?" Kari asked confusedly.

"Kari? Kagome?" the brown-haired preteen asked. "What are you doing home all alone? Didn't you go with Mom and Dad?"

Kari shook her head while Kagome answered. "I stayed to take care of Kari, remember? She and I were supposed to go with you to camp, but because Kari got sick, she couldn't go and I didn't because I wanted to watch over her."

It was then that both girls turned to the pink creature.

"Hi Koromon," Kari said.

"Hell Koromon," Kagome smiled gently.

"What the—" Tai sputtered for a moment. "How did you two know his name?"

Kari and Kagome looked at each other before turning back to their older brother with a shrug. "We don't know. I guess we just knew," Kagome replied.

"Maybe they know me 'cause they're smarter than you!" Koromon commented slyly.

_'Looks like we've got a cheeky one on our hands…' _Kagome sighed as she watched Tai practically smother the poor thing.

"It feels like I've met him before," Kari answered.

"That's why we're not freaking out right now," Kagome added dryly.

"But that can't be right," Tai shook his head. "This is the first time he's even been out of the Digital World!"

Kari looked up at Tai curiously. "Maybe that's where we met."

"But you've never been to the Digital World, neither of you have," Tai spoke. "I think?" he added as an afterthought.

It was moments later that Tai and Kagome were watching Koromon play a hand-clapping (or in Koromon's case, ear-clapping) game together.

"Why _are _you back from camp anyway?" Kagome asked, hands on her hips. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't cancelled or Mama and Papa would've said something to me or I might've gotten a phone call, but there's been nothing so far."

But her older brother by a few months said nothing, continuously shifting his gazed from Koromon to Kari to her and then back again to repeat the cycle.

"Tai," Kagome said slowly as she felt a hand on her forehead, "_what_ are you doing?" She watched as the brown-haired boy's hand also went to their little sister's forehead.

"We're not sick," Kari told Tai, "and even if we haven't been to the Digital World, I'm pretty sure you have. Where else would you get a Koromon?"

"The toy store?" Tai said, or rather asked.

"Yeah right," Kagome said dryly.

"You _do_ know," Tai looked at his sisters. "I'd better see if the others made it home, too."

The two girls and Digimon watched as the preteen made his way to the phone and called up his friends' residences, only to find that none but he had returned home. They watched as the boy was silent for a few moments before taking out a small device from his pocket and stared at the it.

"Tai?" Kagome put a hand on her brother's shoulder, snapping him out of his daze.

"Yeah?" her brother answered.

"If you're hungry, Mama let some leftovers in the fridge," Kagome told him, "or if you want, I can make us all something to eat."

Tai shook his head. "Why don't I make us all a healthy breakfast instead?"

Kagome and Kari stared at the preteen in disbelief. "You? Cook? That's like asking for a disaster to happen! Don't you remember when you _attempted_ to make a simple cup of _ramen_? The microwave _BURST INTO FLAMES_! And I _still_ don't know how you managed that!"

"Oh c'mon, Kagome," Tai laughed nervously. "Give me a chance here, I promise I've gotten better!"

Kagome looked at her older brother with narrowed eyes before giving a sharp nod. "Fine, but if I even SMELL a hint of ANYTHING, you're not allowed near anything in the kitchen but the refrigerator and pantry! Is that clear?"

"Yeah yeah, I got ya," Tai waved off his sister's warning as he made his way around the kitchen, gathering whatever ingredients and utensils needed.

Meanwhile, Kagome, Kari, and Koromon were sitting in the living room, playing a guessing game. Had Kagome had her way, she would've stayed in the kitchen to watch Tai had Kari and Koromon not begged her to come with them, paired with the infamous puppy-dog eyes.

"Breakfast is served!" Tai announced as he placed three plates with harmless looking rice omelets on each one, one larger than the other two for Kagome and Kari to share.

(AN: Now the reason I had Tai make a large one for Kagome and Kari was because I remember in the anime that she took no more than a bite or two before handing the rest over to the two gluttons. Plus, I know that when recovering from any kind of sickness, a person needs to slowly eat in small portions and light foods before moving onto larger portions and heavier things to ease the stomach back into a sense of normalcy. At least that was how it had been for me and a few of my relatives when I/we was/were younger.)

"Thank you for this food," the three humans and one digimon right before Tai and Koromon wasted no time in digging into the food.

_'They're made for each other…' _Kagome sweat-dropped at the scene before eyeing the piece of food warily, poking it with a fork. _'It looks harmless enough…'_

Where the raven-haired sibling was wary of eating the food Tai had made, Kari had no qualms about digging into the food, though she'd started out with a small bite. "Hey! This is great!" her eyes widened, taking another bite, a little bigger this time.

Surprised at her little sister's reaction to what she'd deemed a hazard to their health and looked down at the rice omelet once more, this time, actually taking a small bite.

Icy-blue eyes widened when she tasted a burst of flavour instead of the burnt, charred taste that was usually associated with anything her brother cooked. "She's right, this _is_ good!" She looked up at her brother. "How did you learn to cook like this?"

Tai looked up from his plate and swallowed his bite before answering. "A friend of mine from camp, Matt; he showed us all how to cook since he's done it the most and being the in the Digital World, we needed to know since there weren't any convenience stores or anything like that there."

"How _did_ you get to the Digital World, anyway?" Kari asked, bother and her sister staring at their older brother.

Tai stopped eating and put his plate down at the question. "Well…" And with that, the eldest of the Kamiyas began to tell the tale of how he and his new friends had been sucked into the Digital World and how they'd faced one enemy after another trying to save that world.

"And the next thing we know, Koromon and I are standing in that park Mom and Dad used to take us to," Tai finished. He blinked at the jaw-dropped expressions of his sisters. "Uh guys?"

"We leave you alone for not even a day and look at how much trouble you got yourself into!" Kagome shook her head.

"Tai!" Koromon suddenly shouted. "Look!"

The three humans of the group turned to look at the television, not quite remembering when it was even turned on. But it was what was being shown that caught Tai's attention.

"What's—AH!" Tai exclaimed. "What's Meramon doing here?"

"And look!" Koromon pointed out. "There's Seadramon and Frigimon!"

_'Mysterious weather conditions around the world?'_ Kagome narrowed her eyes at the screen, watching as strange creatures on the screen vanish and appear at random intervals in different places.

"But what are these Digimon doing here in the human world?" Tai asked. "It shouldn't even be possible since Koromon and I were sent back by mistake!"

"Finally someone else can see them," Kari commented. "Kagome and I tried telling Mama and Daddy about them, but they just thought that we watch too many cartoons."

"What?" Koromon looked at the two girls. "You mean you can see those Digimon, too?"

Kagome nodded in answer this time. "They just up and appeared this morning after you left. Like Kari said, we tried telling Mama and Papa, but neither of them believed us. And before you ask, no we don't know if anyone else can see them."

Suddenly, the television screen went black, signaling a power outage.

"Uh-oh," Kari whispered, holding Koromon in her arms and nudging closer to Kagome. "What's going on?"

"Don't know, Kari," Kagome muttered. "But I think it might have something to do with Tai." She watched as he took out a small white device with pale-blue accents out of his pocket, the screen glowing a bright aqua.

"My digivice activated itself?" Tai murmured under his breath. "Just what _is_ going on?"

It was then that the girls heard a strange noise from behind them. They turned around to find the computer suddenly turned on, but instead of the usual photo of their family that graced their desktop, the screen was filled with multicoloured static.

Kagome narrowed her eyes, trying to see just whatever it was that the computer was trying to send through. Kari's eyes widened when the static cleared enough to reveal a young male with auburn hair.

"Tai!" Kari cried out. "It's a boy! He's on the computer!"

"A boy?" Tai muttered, though he didn't take his eyes off of his digivice.

"Can you—hear—danger!" the boy on the screen said loudly.

"That's Izzy!" Tai's head snapped up when he heard the familiar voice. He rushed to the computer and grabbed the monitor. "Izzy! What's going on? Where are you? What happened after I left?"

"Where—you—don't—come back!" Izzy told Tai.

"What are you talking about?" Tai urged. "I can't leave you guys there! I have to come back!"

"Digimon—chaos!" Izzy's voice blipped in and out.

"Wait!" Tai shouted. "I need your help! There's something weird going on over—"

"Better—where—are! Don't—back!" Izzy's voice said before his image disappeared completely from the monitor.

"Izzy!" Tai cried out as the image of his intelligent friend faded in a flurry of multicoloured static.

Silence reigned for a few moments.

"What are we going to do now, Tai?" Koromon asked quietly.

"I don't know, Koromon," Tai answered softly. "I just don't know. Two worlds are in danger, and while I'm here safe at home, they're probably fighting for their lives! And I can't do a thing about it! I should just quit now while I have the chance…"

Kagome's eyes hardened as she stalked up to her brother. Turning the boy around to face her, the raven-haired girl raised her hand and brought it down quickly.

_CRACK!_

The sound echoed through the room, followed by Koromon and Kari's gasps of surprise.

"Tai!" the two called out worriedly.

"Kagome?" Tai said slowly, caressing the slowly reddening cheek. _'She…hit me? Why did she hit me?'_

"I sincerely hope you weren't being serious about quitting, Tai, because that's not the big brother Kari and I know," Kagome all but growled at her brother.

"But—" The preteen tried protesting.

"No buts," Kagome cut him off. "Every time there was some kind of problem, you'd always find a way to fix things. So why is now so different? Because you don't know how to get back to your friends? Because you don't know how to use that 'digivice'? Well, newsflash, Tai, but you rarely, if ever, go in with a plan. You usually rush in with the belief that everything'll be all right."

Kari and Koromon kept quiet as they watched the elder siblings. As surprised as they were at first about Kagome's actions, they understood why she'd done it when she began speaking.

Koromon had nearly jumped Kagome when her hand was brought down against Tai's cheek. _'He needs to hear this,'_ the pink digimon thought. _'It's for the best.'_

Icy-blue eyes softened as she rubbed the pain away from her brother cheek. "No matter how bad a situation could be, you've always managed to get through by believing that you could. So why should now be any different? Where's the confident and courageous big brother that's always been there for his little sisters?"

"Tai," Kari stepped up to grab one of her older brother's hands, "Kagome's right. Don't look so down; I know you'll figure out a way to get back to the Digital World and save your friends. So don't lose hope, 'kay?"

Tai looked at his sisters and Koromon, who gave him a look saying that he agreed with everything that had just been said. "'Kay," he smiled gently at his siblings.

"Good," Kagome smirked lightly. "Now go on; sit down and relax for a bit. If you're going to figure out an answer to your problems, the best way to do it is when you're calm. Now shoo!"

That said, Tai took Koromon and made his way into the room he shared with his sisters and laid down on his single bed with Koromon on his pillow beside his head.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Did you really need to be so harsh with him?" Kari asked her older sister.

"Did it really seem a bit much?" Kagome winced as she took out a watermelon from the fridge.

"Maybe and maybe not," Kari shrugged. "It depends on who you ask."

"Hmm," Kagome hummed, slicing the large fruit into decent-sized slices for them all to snack on. "In answer to your question, as much as I hated doing that, Tai needed to wake up and smell the roses. He said his friends were in danger, but all he was doing was panicking and thinking about quitting the journey he was chosen for. I'll admit, the slap might have been a bit much, but he needed to snap out of his mood, and I guess I did just that, for however long it'll work."

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"They're right," Tai sighed. "I need to calm down so I can figure out just what's going on and what I can do about it."

"Well," Koromon piped up. "We know that you and I traveled through a dimensional rift back into your world, where time didn't really pass at all. But it turns out that we were the only ones to make it here; everyone else is still back in the digital world."

"And we know that somehow, digimon are appearing in the human world, causing all sorts of weird stuff to happen," Tai added.

"But the question is: What are going to do about it?" Koromon asked.

"I honestly don't know," Tai replied. "It looks like the both of us along with Kagome and Kari are the only ones that can even see the digimon here in this world. But aside from the weather, nothing else seems to be happening."

The pink Digimon opened his mouth to speak when a loud ringing filled the air.

They listened as Kari picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Oh, hi, Mama!"

"Mhm. Mhm. Okay, I'll see you."

Tai quickly got up and quickly made his way to the phone. "Here, let me see it," he said as he gently took the phone from his younger sister and held it up to his ear.

_"We might be home a little later than we thought,"_ Airi Kamiya's voice filtered in from the receiver. _"There's supposed to be a really big storm soon and the traffic coming into town'll be a bit heavy. Oh, and your grandparents wanted you, Tai, and Kagome to come and visit when you're all better. Kari? Kari, honey, is everything all right? Where's Kagome?"_

"M-Mom?" Tai whispered into the receiver.

_"What the—Tai?"_ Airi said in surprise.

However, before anymore could be said, Tai had placed to the receiver back where it was supposed to be, cutting the conversation to an end.

"Is something wrong?" Kagome asked, seeing the look on her brother's face. "What's going on?"

"I think I know what's happening," Tai said suddenly.

"What d'you mean?" Koromon asked.

"Somehow the troubles from the Digital World are falling through dimensions into our world," Tai answered. "I don't know how, but I'm guessing that's why we're having all this weird weather and why we're suddenly seeing Digimon appear here in this world."

"So what do we do?" Koromon asked.

"I don't think there's anything we _can_ do—" Tai began.

"Don't make me smack you for being all pessimistic again," Kagome warned.

"At least not until I figure out how to use my digivice," Tai finished with a light glare at the raven-haired girl. "But until then, I guess we'll just have to stay here for now. You might like it here Koromon; there's all sorts of stuff to do and things to eat…"

Tai grunted as he rubbed a hand over his face in frustration. "Yeah right, who am I kidding? I'm stuck here while my friends are in trouble back in the Digital World! And I can't do a thing about it 'cause I don't know how to work this stupid piece of junk!" He held up the digivice with every intention of throwing it to the floor, when the ground began to shake, causing everything in the house to vibrate near violently with it.

"What the—" Kagome muttered, hugging Kari close to her.

"Earthquake!" Tai shouted as he ran to the balcony to check out if anything was happening outside. "Is it Seadramon again?"

It was then that a large spout of water erupted from the bay behind his apartment complex to reveal a large dinosaur-like creature.

"It's Tyrannomon! What's he doing here?" Tai shouted. He and Koromon watched as the large Digimon opened its mouth and launched a large fireball at a bridge miles away from their home. "Oh no…"

Tai rushed back into the house and started lacing up his sneakers once more.

"Tai what's going on?" Koromon asked. "What about Kagome and Kari?"

"They're going to stay here. We need to find that dimensional rift so we can get back to the Digital World," Tai said. He looked at his sisters. "Stay inside, whatever you do, okay?"

Kagome and Kari nodded, holding onto each other in case of another tremor. "Be careful, Tai," Kagome said as the preteen rushed out the door.

"Do you think he'll be all right?" Kari asked.

"You trust Tai, don't you?" Kagome asked.

Kari nodded.

"Then believe in him," Kagome told her sister. "That's the most we can even do right now. And besides, Koromon's with him." _'But even that won't stop me from worrying…'_

"Come on," Kagome told her sister, "even if we can't go out there, we can always watch for any trouble from up here." She led Kari to the balcony where she placed the younger girl on a stool and they both watched the speck the assumed was Tai and Koromon go towards Tyrannomon.

Suddenly, the large dinosaur Digimon disappeared as though he was never there in the first place.

"He's gone," Kari gasped. "What's going on?"

"I don't—Over there!" Kagome pointed towards where another explosion sounded, revealing a large mole-like Digimon with a drill for a nose.

However, just like Tyrannomon had done before, this Digimon had also disappeared within a few seconds of its appearance.

**_"We have to find that dimensional riftso we can get back to the Digital World…"_**

Kagome remembered the words Tai had said as he ran out the door and also what he'd said of how he'd come back home. She looked to where the Digimon once were and put two and two together.

"They're drifting in and out of the dimensional rift," Kagome whispered in realization.

"What does that mean?" Kari asked, having heard her sister speak.

"Tai came home through a dimensional rift," Kagome explained. "It's that exact dimensional rift that's responsible for the Digimon appearing in our world. But, unlike Koromon who's perfectly fine, these Digimon are drifting between worlds. Think of it as a sort of limbo; they'll be in one world for a bit and then they'll go back to the other and it'll continue bouncing like that until the rift closes."

_'Until the rift closes?'_ Kari thought. She suddenly ran off the balcony and into her room, grabbed a light cardigan and into a pair of slippers before she was out the door.

"Kari!" Kagome shouted as she slipped into a pair of slippers and ran out the door after her sister. "Kari wait!"

By the time Kagome had reached Kari, she found the young girl latched onto Tai, begging him to let her come to the Digital World with him.

"Kari…" Kagome whispered as she walked over to place her hands on the girl's shoulders.

"Ogremon!" Came Koromon's voice. "Tai, it's Ogremon!"

They all turned to see a large green figure looking like his namesake across the street, watching them with blank eyes.

"What's he doing?" Kagome asked. "He couldn't just be waiting for the light to change, could he?"

"Maybe when it does he'll disappear just like the rest," Tai suggested.

And so the quartet waited and watched.

The light turned green, however, Ogremon didn't disappear as Tyrannomon and Drimogemon had. Instead, the green Digimon flew at them, or more specifically, Koromon.

The pink Digimon had dodged him, however, sending Ogremon's spiked club slamming into the pavement beside the human trio, sending debris flying everywhere around them.

Tai grabbed his sisters and held them close to shield them from harm until the debris and dust had cleared. "Are you two okay?"

Kagome and Kari nodded before the raven-haired girl noticed something. "Where's Koromon? He was here just a moment ago!"

Quickly, the trio began turning their heads and eyes in all directions, trying to locate the little Digimon.

"He's up there!" Kari cried out. "He's trying to take on that big Digimon on his own!"

"Bubble Blow!" Koromon blew a shower of clear-pink bubbles at Ogremon, though it did nothing to harm or distract the larger Digimon.

"Koromon you need to digivolve!" Tai shouted up to his partner Digimon.

"I can't!" Koromon called back to them. "Not without the digivice!"

"The digivice isn't working!" Tai yelled. "You're going to need to digivolve without it!"

"I can't!" Koromon cried out before being slammed away by Ogremon's club. The Digimon let out a shout as he fell.

"Digivolve!" Tai shouted, louder than ever. This time, something must have happened because the digivice in Tai's hand started to glow a neon blue.

Koromon had started to glow a stunning white as he changed form. "Koromon digivolve to: Agumon!" And it seemed that not only did his appearance change, but his voice had as well.

Suddenly, above them about a mile in diameter, a large glowing hole opened up in the sky, sucking in the debris from Ogremon's attacks.

"It's the dimensional rift!" Tai cried out. "It's sucking everything in like some oversized vacuum cleaner!"

Agumon landed atop a traffic signal and they all watched as Ogremon charged at Agumon from above. "Take him out!" Tai called out.

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon let out a ball of fire that shot straight into Ogremon, causing the large Digimon to lose his balance, sending him careening into the dimensional rift.

Tai sighed with relief, but that wasn't to last for log as he watched Agumon slowly being pulled up into the rift, his body fading with each second that passed.

"Agumon come back!" Tai cried out.

"I can't," Agumon said gently. "I'm needed back in my world. I'll never forget you!"

By this time, the rift had decreased into half the size it had been.

"Please take me with you, then!" Tai cried out. "Don't leave me here!" He took a step forward. "Agumon!"

"Please don't leave, Tai!" Kari said as she held onto Tai's hand.

"You know that I can't, Kari," Tai said, trying to make his sister see sense.

"Kari," Kagome spoke up, "Tai has a job to do in a place we can't go. We care about Tai, but Agumon and his friends need him more right now."

Kari looked up at her sister with tear-filled eyes. "I know, I'm sorry."

"Stay safe," Tai said as his body was raised into the air by the pull the dimensional rift had on his digivice. "I'll miss you!"

"Be careful," Kagome said, holding onto the rapidly slipping hand of her brother.

Eventually within seconds, Tai's hand slipped out from Kari and Kagome's grip completely.

"Don't forget about us!" Kari called out to their brother as he was pulled upwards, the rift closing when he was gone.

"He'll be back, right?" Kari asked.

"He will," Kagome nodded. "It might not be today or even tomorrow, but he'll be back." She looked down at her sister and took her hand. "Come on, let's go home."

They never noticed the pair of gold eyes watching as they headed for home.

"I've finally found you," the owner of said eyes said, his gaze trained on Kagome in particular.

* * *

-That Night-

Kagome walked out onto the balcony and leaned against the railing, watching the lights of the city flickering here and there, in and out.

She'd just tucked Kari into bed and decided to wait for their parents to get home before heading off to bed herself. _'I wonder if you got to the Digital World safely with Agumon, Tai…'_

"Kagome?"

The girl in question jumped, startled, as she didn't expect nor recognize the voice that had spoken. She narrowed her eyes as she looked around warily. "Who wants to know?"

"I would, actually," the voice said from behind her.

Kagome turned slowly and screamed when she found a pair of gold eyes watching her from the shadows.

Or, at least, she would have screamed, had what seemed like a wispy body not wrapped around her head, covering her mouth, muffling what would have been the loud sound.

A small head bent down before her eyes. "Now, if I let you go, you won't scream again, will you?"

Kagome shook her head and watched in amazement as the wispy body loosened and the creature lay upon the balcony railing, looking at her curiously.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

This being looked much like a ferret, though it wasn't quite that. The creature had white fur with lavender accents that resembled some form of writing, pointed ears with a gold hoop piercing in the left ear, and a pair of slender forelegs with magenta claws on its paws. The rest of its body however was another story. From the torso and beyond, the body stretched out to around two and a half feet in length with the end of its body resembling the end of a scarf or piece of cloth. Around his forelegs were a pair of thick gold bands about three inches in height with tiny etchings of symbols over the entirety of the, and a black and silverr collar rested around its neck, an inch or two below its muzzle.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"What are you?" Kagome asked softly.

"A Digimon," the creature stated. "My name is Kudamon; are you Kagome?"

Kagome nodded.

A small smile broke out on Kudamon's face. "Then I've finally found you!"

"You've found me?" Kagome repeated. "You were looking for me?"

Kudamon nodded. "For a long time, actually. And now that I've finally found you, it's time that you had these." He lifted his tail to show a small pouch dangling from it.

Kagome took the pouch and opened it to reveal a digivice exactly like Tai's and what looked like a gold necklace with a white carving sealed within it. "Why—"

"That is your digivice," Kudamon told her gesturing to the device, "and that is your tag and crest." He motioned to the necklace.

"Tag and crest?" Kagome asked, never hearing of that from Tai.

"The Crest of Compassion to be exact," Kudamon told her. "It belongs to you, as it always had."

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"You are one of the DigiDestined, Kagome," Kudamon told her. "And I am your partner; it's a pleasure to finally meet you."

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	3. Book One: Developments

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!**

AN: All right, this is where things should be changing, I believe, if my mental timeline is correct. Now, there may be a few spelling mistakes here and there along with a grammar error, and as picky I can be about things like that, I'm only human. So if there is any sort of spelling error or error in word usage, just ignore it.

Oh, and before I forget, there is one other thing I wanted to mention. Or actually, maybe there were a few things… Anyway, I remember how it was told that Tai and his friends weren't the first DigiDestined. Rather, there were people/children before them, though those names nor descriptions were never revealed in the anime, or the manga, actually I think. In my story, I'm going to have Tai and his friends be the very first DigiDestined. Apocalymon I think was originally sealed by the first DigiDestined, however, here I'm going to have the Digimon Sovereigns be the ones to seal him away with help from the crests they're connected to.

Ah, and before I forget to mention, I'm going to be posting some drawings/sketches of some things for this story sometime in the future as I'm a little busy and art and writing aren't my top priorities at the moment. Whatever artwork I post will always be on my DeviantArt page, whose link is on my profile.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-Developments-Xx**

-Kamiya Residence-

"Kudamon?" Kagome asked, looking up from her book. She watched the fox-like Digimon turn his head in a random direction from where he'd curled up in her lap. "What's wrong?"

(AN: I know that I described him as having similarities to a ferret, but I went back to check up on a few things about him and found out that his character design and name are actually derived off of a mythical Japanese creatures that is said to resemble a fox.)

It had been three days since Tai had left for the Digital World and Kudamon had entered Kagome's life. Though something strange had happened; while she and Kari remembered everything that had happened when Tai and Koromon came home, no one who'd seen the Digimon previously remembered a single thing, as though the Digimon were never there.

"Someone's here," Kudamon replied with narrowed eyes.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, not understanding what her Digimon was trying to say. "Who's here? You know that Kari, Mama, you and I are the only ones home right now."

Kudamon shook his head and began to explain. "Something from the Digital World has entered this one. I don't know how or what it is, though."

(AN: Now before anyone says anything about spelling or word usage error, I actually meant 'how' and not 'who'.)

"Who would want to—" Kagome cut herself off before her eyes widened. "Do you think it could be Tai and his friends?"

"Again, I don't know," Kudamon shook his head again. "But we should keep our guards up; you never know when something could happen."

Kagome looked at her Digimon for a moment before nodding. The fox-like Digimon lay back down in the raven-haired girl's lap, giving a small purr as she stroked his head gently.

* * *

-Elsewhere in Odaiba-

"Lord Myostimon!" Gatomon and DemiDevimon said worriedly as they watched their leader and lord slump against a wall, practically trying to cloak himself in its shadow.

The vampire-like Digimon grunted in frustration and pain. "Although we've made it to the Human World, I can do nothing until nightfall." He reached into his cloak and took out nine silver tags, each with a blank black crest inside, and tossed them to the two small Digimon. "Here, take these."

"What are they, Lord Myotismon?" Gatomon asked. She looked at the blank crests curiously, as did DemiDevimon.

"These are special crests," Myotismon explained. "Each belongs to a specific child; find them and make sure to give them the crest that reacts to them. When you are near a child meant for one of these crests, one will react, and that is the one that must go to that child." He threw his underlings a glare that promised death should they fail. "Do _not_ forget that or lose them. One crest will only react for that one child."

"But what about the Eighth Child?" DemiDevimon asked. "Shouldn't we be out looking for him?"

"The Digimon Gatomon persuaded to our cause will search for the Eighth Child," Myotismon told them. He showed them a pink crest within a gold tag. "Each have a crest of their own to search with; it will only react to the digivice of the Eighth Child. Your priority is to search for the nine children to whom these crests belong, while the rest will search for the Eighth Child."

"Yes, Milord!" both Digimon chorused before going off to do their master's bidding, Gatomon taking five of the crests and DemiDevimon taking the last four.

* * *

-Kamiya Residence; A Few Hours Later-

"Kagome!" Kari called urgently. "Kagome you _have_ to see this!"

"What's the matter?" Kagome walked into the living room with Kudamon following behind unseen by the younger girl.

"Look!" Kari pointed to the television screen with wide eyes.

"What is it?" Kagome looked over, only to stop dead in her tracks. Her eyes trailed over the images of the near-demolished area around Highton View Terrace. "What the heck happened over there? It looks like someone…bombed…the place…" Her voice trailed off as the last few words she uttered caused Kagome to experience a feeling of déjà vu. _'Where have I heard that?'_

(AN: Did I spell the name of their home right? I looked it up in several places and it was always spelled as I did it above, though I'm still not sure…)

"Keep watching," Kari told her sister, dragging her to sit on the couch.

_'Something's wrong,'_ Kagome and Kudamon thought in unison.

(AN: At this point, I'm going to have the events on television done in italics, so don't be too surprised. It's more for my keeping things organized, so I hope it doesn't make reading this too difficult.)

_It wasn't until a few moments later that the camera shifted to show what looked like a large ginger-hued furry elephant with a silver mask with gold accents covering its face and trunk, a pair of flared, almost spiky ears, and not quite ivory tusks with metal stitched into them. _

_The creature that was clearly at least ten times the size of a normal elephant went around on a rampage, destroying everything and anything it could._

Kagome looked down at Kudamon, who remained hidden from Kari's sight and nodded her head slightly to the footage. _"Is that what I think it is?"_ her gaze seemed to ask.

Kudamon had luckily understood Kagome's silent inquiry and nodded his head gravely. It was indeed a Digimon that they were looking at.

A Digimon in the human realm in **corporeal** form, unlike the near-transparent and coloured versions last seen.

_It wasn't long before another Digimon appeared in the screen, this one looking like a giant orange bird._

_The giant bird tackled the elephant Digimon, only to get knocked away by a pair of tusks that were launched at it by the elephant Digimon, launching it a few metres, possibly miles, away._

"No!" Kari cried out with worry.

Kagome didn't know why, but she knew that the bird Digimon could be trusted and that there was another force at work if multiple Digimon were starting to appear in the human world.

_The firebird now released two large balls of fire from its wings, though it did nothing to hinder the elephant Digimon. Rather, it only bounced off of it and hit their surroundings._

Suddenly, Kagome sat up straight, her eyes widening with a sort of glassy look to them.

_'Two large monsters fighting…one few and the other breathed fire…'_

_Suddenly, a magenta glow enveloped the orange firebird, the Digimon slowly changing shape to something much large and a slight bit human in physique. When the glow died down there stood a large crimson Digimon that looked more like a cross between a human and bird. _

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

_It had long blonde hair knotted loosely towards the end with two locks tied off with crimson ties on either side of its head, a pair of large gold and crimson wings, an a crimson mask over it head. Over its arms, thighs and mask were what looked like tribal etching, most done in white, though some were done in blue as well._

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

_The new Digimon launched itself to the ground just as the elephant Digimon released another pair of glowing tusk points at it, as though the bird-like Digimon was…protecting something._

_Once the cloud of smoke had passed, the bird-like Digimon launched itself at the elephant Digimon, landing on its back and holding onto its ears, riding it like it was no problem._

Kari giggled at the sight, finding it funny, but never noticed that her sister didn't laugh along like she normally would when they found something amusing.

_'The monsters!'_ Kagome realized. _'Koromon was one of them, only he must have evolved to a higher level back then! And the other was some giant parrot thing! They were fighting in that exact spot! Could this be why Tai and his friends have Digimon partners? Is this why I have one, too?'_

_They watched as the bird-like Digimon flew into air, hauling the elephant Digimon up with its trunk before releasing it, letting it fall to the ground with a loud 'crash', creating a crater in its wake. The bird-like Digimon released a blaze of fire that soon formed into a firebird before striking the elephant Digimon, making it shatter into millions of tiny particles that disappeared soon enough._

_As soon as the elephant Digimon disappeared, the large bird-like Digimon suddenly glowed a bright gold that shrunk until there was nothing there._

"Kagome?" Kari asked quietly when she changed the channel to a favorite cartoon of hers.

"Hm?" Kagome hummed, thinking about the fight they'd just seen. _'If Digimon are suddenly appearing in the human world, the something must have happened in the Digital World to cause this… Actually, now that I think about it, how did Kudamon come to this world, anyway?'_

"Did you get a weird feeling while watching that?" the younger girl asked hesitantly.

Kagome looked at Kari with a strange glint in her eyes. "If I said yes, what would your answer be?"

"I just remembered that fight between Koromon and that other monster four years ago when we lived in our old apartment," Kari explained.

"Then you aren't the only one," Kagome told her. "I just remembered seeing that same fight, too."

"Does it mean anything, though?" Kari asked. "That fight we saw, is there a reason why we're the only ones that remember it?"

"You're definitely smarter than you look, Kari," Kagome chuckled. "Anyway, I really don't know the answer to that. There's probably a reason why we remember while no one else does, but I wouldn't know it. Maybe we were the only ones to actually see it; remember when they called the incident a terrorist bombing? That was probably to cover the incident since no one actually saw anything or knew what happened."

"Do you think there's anyone else that remembers?" Kari asked.

"There could be," Kagome said, "but I wouldn't bet too much on that. There just may be only a handful of people who can even recall what happened back then. I mean even I didn't remember until seeing that." The raven-haired girl gestured to the television.

She stood up from the couch and stretched a bit before turning back to her little sister. "Don't worry about it, okay?" Kagome ruffled the younger girl's hair. "We'll get our answers when it's time."

"'Kay," Kari giggled, settling down to watch the cartoon she'd scrolled to.

Kagome smiled softly at her younger sister before heading back to their room, Kudamon following at her heels.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Kudamon?" Kagome said once they entered the room, closing the door behind them. "How did those two Digimon come into our world? And why?"

Kudamon shook his head as he lay upon the soft star-printed covers of Kagome's bed. "I wouldn't know. I didn't think there was any way to pass from the Digital World into this one. As for why, I wouldn't be able to tell you that either."

"Then how did _you_ come here?" Kagome asked.

"A dimensional rift; just as your brother did," Kudamon reminded her. "When I was born, I grew up alongside the other eight Digimon belonging to your brother and his friends. But when they arrived and you didn't, I left to find some way to find you. Eventually, I ended up following your brother until he and MetalGreymon were dragged into the dimensional rift. Before it closed, I leapt in behind them, hoping that this would be what would take me to you."

"'Hoping'?" Kagome repeated. "Wait, do you mean that you just jumped into some portal not knowing where you'd end up?"

Kudamon nodded. "However, when I arrived, I realized that I didn't know where I would be able to find you. At the time, I didn't know that Tai was your brother or I would have followed him to you, so I went on searching through crowds, trying to find you. It wasn't until the time when your brother, Agumon, and Ogremon were being drawn into another dimensional rift, that I found you. And of course, we know what happens after that."

Kagome stared at her Digimon for a moment and blinked.

And blinked again.

And again.

"Are you crazy?!" Kagome all but shouted so Kari wouldn't hear. "What on earth would posses you to do something so reckless?"

"Kagome—" Kudamon tried placating the girl, but there was no stopping her.

"You jumped through a portal, not knowing where you'd end up," Kagome ranted, "heck, you wouldn't even know if there was a chance that you would make it out of there alive!"

"Kagome," Kudamon tried again, but to no avail.

"I know you were looking for me, but did it ever occur to think before you act?"

"Kagome!" Kudamon said loud enough to stop the girl from speaking, but not loud enough for anyone else to hear.

The Digimon sighed. "I know, what I did was dangerous, but you need to understand, sometimes there are risks worth taking, and living life without taking a few risks really isn't living at all. I don't regret jumping into the rift since it was because of it that I finally met you." He looked up at his partner. "Do you understand? I don't regret anything I've done thus far; sure I have gotten into a little trouble now and then, but that's life."

Kagome eventually nodded with a sigh of frustration. "I know, you're right; but that doesn't mean that I have to like that you just rushed in like that." Her gaze softened. "Though I can't say that I'm too mad at you for it; like you said, if you hadn't done what you did, we wouldn't be together now. But can you promise me something?"

Kudamon nodded. "Anything."

"Don't do anything like that while you're here, okay?" Kagome asked. "You don't know too much about the human world despite having been here for three days and I don't want to risk you getting hurt. SO whatever happens whatever we do, we'll do together, okay?"

The fox-like Digimon gave a soft smile. _'I can see why she was chosen to receive the Crest of Compassion…'_ "Deal."

But as quickly as it was there, the smile slid off of Kudamon's face as his expression turned serious. "We must keep our guards up, Kagome," he said, "Mammothmon has appeared here and did more than enough damage. Who knows what other Digimon could have come here with him? We need to stay alert and stop whatever Digimon may cause harm to this world."

"Mammothmon?" Kagome asked. "Was that the elephant-like Digimon? Then who was the other?"

"That was Garudamon, an Ultimate level Digimon," Kudamon told her. "She belongs to one of your brother's friends. The Digimon that turned into Garudamon was Birdamon, the Champion level evolved form of Biyomon. And while I don't know how they came here, I can tell you that if Birdamon is here, then that means that your brother and his friends are back as well."

"Really?" Kagome's eyes widened. "But how?"

"Again, I don't know," Kudamon shook his head. "But maybe your brother and his friends came home the same way Mammothmon arrived in this world. That's the only answer I have at the moment."

The raven-haired girl nodded before pulling her Digimon into her lap. She started stroking the fox-like Digimon, eliciting a content purr from him.

"Kagome?" Kudamon murmured.

"Hm?" Kagome hummed, continuing to stroke the Digimon.

"When your**—purr—**brother comes, don't**—purr—**let him know about me," Kudamon told her in between purrs.

Kagome stopped and looked down at her partner. "Why not? Isn't it right that he should know about you?"

Kudamon nodded. "It is, but all I know is that until the time comes, don't reveal yourself as a DigiDestined. I have a bad feeling that something will happen if you do…"

The raven-haired girl stared at her Digimon for a moment before nodding in understanding. "If that's what you believe, then I'll trust you."

* * *

-Elsewhere in Odaiba-

"You'd think that one of these would've reacted by now," Gatomon drawled to herself, looking at the five sliver tags she held.

The cat Digimon had traveled through several areas children seemed to inhabit the most, trying to fulfill the task given to her by her master, but to no avail. Not a single one of the crests had reacted to a single child as of yet.

"Well, onto the next one," Gatomon sighed, once again taking off on the streets like a normal cat.

It wasn't until she was passing by large apartment complex that two of the five crests began to glow faintly. Thought the glow wasn't very strong, Gatomon was able to see what colours they were glowing. One glowed a dark-dull-orange hue while the other shone with a deep-plum hue.

"So they're in there, are they?" Gatomon smirked. "Let's see who the _lucky_ nominees are." And with that said, the feline Digimon began to leap up balconies, stopping at each one, watching the glow of the crests. If the glow died down, then she was farther from her target, and if she were near it the crests' dark hues would glow brighter.

It wasn't until she reached the fourth floor of the building did the plum-hued crest give any reaction. She hopped from balcony to balcony of the homes on the fourth floor, not giving up until she found who she was looking for.

The plum-hued crest glowed brightest when she reached the last balcony of the fourth floor. Quietly, with a wide smirk, the feline Digimon snuck into the house and looked around for any children, only to find the living room and kitchens perfectly empty. She heard noises coming from down the hall and made her way towards the source.

She came to a door that was left slightly ajar, allowing her look inside.

There was a boy, about ten or eleven years of age lying on his bed as he stared a picture frame he held in his hands. But what caught Gatomon's eye was the amount of sorrow the boy radiated to the point where it could be seen on his face as plain as day.

(AN: There is a very good reason why I gave no description on him right now. In fact, there won't be any descriptions of the children Gatomon and DemiDevimon will find with the exception of their ages.)

_'Interesting,'_ Gatomon thought to herself. She looked down at the plum-hued crest and back at the boy. _'I hope I'm right about this.'_ And with that thought in mind, the feline Digimon cracked the door open a bit more and threw the plum-hued crest at the boy, the trinket bopping the child lightly on the side of his head before landing neatly beside his pillow.

Taking the chance to leave, Gatomon fled back through the open balcony doors in search of the child who would own the orange-glowing crest.

"What the—?" The boy shot up, rubbing his head where the crest had clocked him. He looked around to find out what had hit him when he spotted the crest beside him, glowing even brighter than ever. "What's this?" Curious, he picked up the crest.

However, the moment his fingertips closed around the glowing object, the plum glow receded as the crest began to crackle with plum-hued electricity. Frantic, the boy tried to release the crest, but to no avail; he just couldn't let go, it was as though something were binding him to it. The boy cried out in pain as the electricity quickly ran down his fingertips over his body, enveloping his body in a multitude of plum-hued bolts of electricity.

The scream lasted for about a minute, maybe two before the child fell onto the ground, unconscious with a dark aura flaring around his body for a moment before receding into his body. However, had he been awake, he'd have noticed the small black device that now lay beside his head, how the once black crest was blank no longer, and the pair of eyes staring at his still form from underneath his bed.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Once leaving the previous boy's room, Gatomon had continued up the building, watching the last dimly glowing crest for any reactions. It wasn't until she reached the eleventh floor did the dim-glowing crest glowed a brighter dark-orange. Seeing the reaction, Gatomon was ready to leap from balcony to balcony as she'd done before. But it seemed that it wasn't needed since the glowing intensified when she reached the second balcony.

Just as she did before, Gatomon was ready to go inside quietly to find the child, but her plans were ruined when she noticed two boys and a girl in the living room with their mother in the kitchen. One boy looked around fifteen or so while the other seemed to be at least a few years younger, maybe eleven, but the girl was the youngest looking at least six or seven.

_'Great,'_ Gatomon narrowed her eyes. _'Just how am I supposed to figure out which kid this belongs to? And even if I did know who it was, how can I get this to him without giving myself away?'_

The feline Digimon looked around for another way in, but found nothing of the sort. At least nothing that would let in anything larger than a fly.

She growled lowly in frustration. _'I'll have to wait until tonight, then.'_ And with that thought, the Digimon settled herself in the darker corner of the balcony and began to doze off, keeping an ear out for any activity.

* * *

-Kamiya Residence; That Evening-

"Tai?" Airi Kamiya asked as she watched her son take off his shoes. "What are you doing home from camp? Don't tell me you snuck off!"

"Oh come on, Mom," Tai sweat-dropped. "Who do you think I am? Anyway, camp got cancelled because of some freak snowstorm that hit."

"Snow?" Airi raised an eyebrow. "At this time of year? And what's that you're holding?"

"T-This?" Tai looked down at Koromon. "Uh, he's just something I picked up for Kari!"

_'Nice save, smart one,'_ Kagome thought with amusement as she brought a couple bowls out from the cupboard, figuring that her brother and Koromon would definitely be hungry by now.

"Good," their mother nodded. "Now go on and get changed, but don't forget to give me your dirty clothes so I can get the washing done."

Filling one bowl up with some rice, shrimp, and some vegetables their mother had made, Kagome quickly left to place it in her room listening as her brother tackled their mother in a tight hug with a cry of "Mom!".

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Kudamon?" Kagome whispered. "Kudamon where are you?"

"Down here," the Digimon answered, popping his head out from underneath her bed.

"Why—?" Kagome shook her head. "Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that—"

"Your brother and Koromon are home," Kudamon finished. "You wanted to remind me to keep myself hidden, just as we said we would."

Kagome nodded with a sigh. "I still don't like not telling them and I hope what we're doing is right, but if you think that's the right thing to do, then like I said, I'll trust you."

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Kagome walked out of the room, to find her brother shoveling down a bowl of food their mother had offered him, with Koromon sitting on his lap.

The raven-haired girl shook her head. _'What is he going to do? Sneak Koromon his bowl when Mama isn't looking? Actually, now that I think about it, he _would_ do something like that…'_

"Here let me take that," Kagome told her brother, picking Koromon up.

"But—" Tai tried, but was cut off by his sister.

"Don't 'but' me," Kagome said mock sternly. "You just eat your food and I'll make sure this little guy's taken care of." She threw a wink over her shoulder as she retreated back into their room.

(AN: I don't know if I'd mentioned this before, but the siblings all share a room. Kagome and Kari get the bunk beds with Kagome on the bottom and Kari on the top, while Tai gets a single bed placed by Kagome's bunk, parallel to the foot of her bunk.)

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Here you go," Kagome told Koromon, sitting the pink Digimon on the desk in front of the bowl of food she'd prepared. "Eat up; I know you must have been hungry, judging from the way Tai was shoveling down _his_ food."

Koromon thanked Kagome and dove into the bowl with gusto, exclaiming in between swallows that the food was delicious. Luckily, Kagome's father and Kari had the television volume up so loud enough that no one was able to hear the little Digimon.

* * *

-Elsewhere in Odaiba-

_'Finally,'_ Gatomon thought as she watched the children split off as their mother went down the hall to just before the front door to answer a phone call.

The eldest boy had gone to his room, while the second ran for the bathroom after having on too many juice boxes, leaving the youngest child sitting on the couch watching some cartoon. The feline Digimon had already checked on both of the boys during the day and found that the crest didn't react to them at all, leading her to come to the conclusion that the dark-orange crest would belong to the girl.

Gatomon casually walked up to the balcony doors as an ordinary cat would and began to paw at it gently enough to not cause any damage, but hard enough to make a loud enough noise to get the little girl's attention.

As predicted, the young child noticed the cat and as many children her age do, she went over to open the balcony door to help the 'poor kitty'.

When the girl opened the door, Gatomon seized the chance and slipped the tag over the girl's head around her neck, where it began to glow almost blindingly before leaping off the balcony with all the grace of the feline she was.

Like before, this crest too started to crackle with electricity, though this time it was a dark-orange current that shocked the child's body, the child shouting in pain as the current streaking in and out of his body.

The child's family came rushing the moment they'd heard the noise, only to find the youngest of the family lying unconscious in front of an open balcony door. The eldest boy quickly picked the young girl up and took her into her room, where the child could rest.

But had anyone noticed, they'd have seen the etching on the once blank crest around her neck and the pair of eyes watching the family from the young girl's closet.

* * *

-Elsewhere in Odaiba; That Night-

This late at night, the streets of Odaiba were empty and slowly the street lights were turning on one by one.

A Victorian-looking carriage rolled down the dimly lit street, the darkness only making it look all the more intimidating and mysterious to the human eye.

Myotismon sat within the carriage watching the fight between Raremon and Kabuterimon take place through a small viewing portal and gritted his teeth.

"Is there no one that can defeat these children?" He growled. "Hmph, amateurs, the lot of them. And there's been no sign of the Eighth Child, either! If this continued then I—"

The feeling of two jolts ran through him as he felt some of his essence taken from within his soul.

The undead Digimon smirked. "Well, well, it looks like where some things go wrong, others will go just as planned."

He laughed maniacally as his carriage rolled on through the shadows.

* * *

-Kamiya Residence; Siblings' Room-

"Man I'm bushed," Tai sighed as he plopped down on his bed.

"Is something wrong, Tai?" Koromon asked from Kagome's lap. "You don't look too good."

"I don't know," Tai shook his head.

"I'm glad you're back," Kari said, coming into the room and capturing her brother in a tight embrace. "I missed you while you were gone."

"We both did," Kagome said, amused at Tai's befuddled expression.

"Well, I missed you, too," the brown-haired teen said as he looked at his sisters. Suddenly his eyes widened. "Wait, do you guys remember something that happened at Highton View Terrace four years ago?"

"I remember that Koromon got really big and fought this huge bird monster," Kari replied.

"What about you?" Tai asked Kagome.

"The same thing," Kagome answered. "That's something I don't think either of us will ever forget."

"Hmm…" Tai looked back and forth between his sisters for a few moments. "Do either of you have something called a 'digivice'?"

"I don't think so," Kari tipped her head to the side in curiosity. "What's that?"

Tai took out the little white and blue accented device to show his siblings. "Something like this?"

"Uh-uh," Kari shook her head.

Tai looked at his other sister.

Kagome kept a straight face as she shrugged. "Who knows?" Only Koromon had caught the strange wording she used and looked at her curiously. _'Is she hiding something?'_

"Oh well," Tai sighed, stretching, "Looks like it's back to the drawing board." And with that, he fell face-first into his pillow.

Koromon yawned at the same time, prompting Kagome to place him beside Tai's pillow and pulling a small covering over the little Digimon.

"You're party poopers," Kari said amusedly.

"Hush now," Kagome giggled as her brother gave a particularly loud snore. "Let's leave them to rest."

Kari walked out of the room and Kagome was about to do the same when she spotted Kudamon coming out from underneath her bed.

"Is something wrong?" Kagome asked, picking her Digimon up and tucking him into her bunk beside her pillow in the shadows where he couldn't be seen.

"There is a Digimon attacking," Kudamon said as he looked off in the direction Kagome assumed the Digimon must have been in.

"Do you—?" Kagome began before the ringing of the telephone cut her off. "I'll be back in a minute."

"Kamiya Residence," Kagome answered into the receiver.

_"Hello? This is Izzy Izumi,"_ came a young boy's voice. _"I apologize for the disturbance, but may I speak to Tai, please?"_

"I'm sorry, but he's gone to sleep," Kagome said apologetically. "But I can wake him up if you really need him."

_"No that's all right,"_ Izzy said. _"I'll just try again another time. Thank you."_

"Bye," Kagome said, placing the phone back down.

"Kagome?" Airi called. "Who was it?"

"Tai's friend, Izzy," Kagome answered as she walked into the bedroom she shared with her siblings.

"I don't think we'll be needed at the moment, then, Kudamon," Kagome told her Digimon.

"Oh?" the fox-like Digimon asked. "And why would that be?"

"Izzy called," Kagome replied. "He sounded like he really needed to talk to Tai. I think it might have to do with the Digimon you sensed."

"Hmm," Kudamon laid down his head. "Well, go on and wake him up, then. I suppose we won't be needed now."

Kagome nodded and walked over to her brother, shaking him lightly, attempting to wake him, but to no avail. The raven-haired girl huffed and tried shaking the boy harder, but even that didn't wake the preteen. _'Yeesh, I forgot just how hard it was to wake him up…probably because it's usually Mama who does it…'_

However, while that jostling didn't wake Tai up, Koromon did.

"Wh-What's goin' on?" Koromon slurred out sleepily.

"Can you wake Tai up?" Kagome asked. "Izzy called a few minutes ago and he sounded like he really needed to talk to Tai. I've been trying to, but I haven't been able to wake him up at all!"

At Izzy's name and the reasoning, Koromon's eyes shot open, now devoid of all sleep. "I don't know what I can do, but I'll do my best!"

And with that, Koromon began to bounce up and down on Tai's body, but provoked no reaction. After that, he tried biting his hand, but once again, to no avail. This only left one option left.

"Hey, Kagome, can you close the door?" Koromon asked. "I'm going to try something else and I don't want your family to hear."

Kagome nodded and went over to do as asked, wondering just what the little Digimon had planned.

"Bubble Blow!" Koromon shot an array of bubbles from his mouth at Tai.

The bubbles seemed to do the trick as the boy sat up in bed screaming until Kagome clapped her hand over his mouth with Koromon's ears holding her hand to his partner's face.

"Shh," they both said in unison to the preteen that had just been rudely awoken.

Tai nodded, shaking his sister's hand of his face. "What was that for?"

"Koromon and I've been trying to wake you for a while now," Kagome told him. "Izzy called a few minutes ago, he sounded like he really needed to talk to you."

"Izzy?" Tai jumped out of bed, nearly slipping on the hardwood flooring as he rushed to the phone.

The brown-haired boy dialed the familiar number of his intelligent friend and waited for him to pick up.

_"Hello, Izumi residence,"_ the kind voice of Izzy's mother answered.

"Hi, this is Tai," he said, "Izzy called a while ago, but I fell asleep. Could I talk to him?"

_"Of course you can,"_ the woman told him. _"Oh and thank you for loaning Izzy that reference book, it's nice to know he has friends he can count on."_

"Reference book?" Tai asked. "I didn't give him a reference book." _'I don't think I have one that's not collecting dust anyway.'_

_"What?"_ Izzy's mother asked. _"But—"_

"Oh well, if he's not in right now, I'll just see him tomorrow when we meet up," Tai answered. "Thank you!" He hung up. _'I know it's rude, but there's not much that can be done right now. Not if we want our parents finding out about the Digimon and how we're all involved.'_

He sighed and walked out onto the balcony, Kagome following him with Koromon in her arms and Kari following with the family cat, Meeko, in hers.

"Tai?" Kari asked quietly.

"I wonder what Izzy needed to tell me," Tai wondered.

"Everything will be fine," Kagome told her brother. "I'm sure of it." She'd seen the fight between that sludge Digimon and the large insect Digimon. Tai had already told her about his friends and their Digimon, so the fact that the insect Digimon had won, made her know that everything was fine for now.

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	4. Book One: Discoveries

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!

AN: All right, I think it's noticeable now that the black crests will play a significant roles, though nothing will officially come into play until a while later. Right now, I'm just going to list what the colors that each of the crests glow means:

Maroon = Rage

Dark-Orange = Agression

Citrine (A dull-yellow) = Greed

Hunter (a dark shade of green) = Jealousy

Navy = Betrayal

Plum = Despair

Hot-Pink = Desire

Grey = Darkness

White = Apathy

Now, I also know that there may a bit of confusion as to why Kagome's digivice never reacted to Tai's or why Kari's wasn't mentioned and giving off a signal. The simple explanation is that while watching the series, both the first and second seasons, I realized that the aspects of Digital World are created through belief and of course data obviously. And so, Kagome doesn't want to be found yet, so in turn she won't be because it's her digivice responding to her wishes. As for Kari's digivice, it hasn't been found yet, and therefore not active, so it won't give off a signal until it is found.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-Discoveries-Xx**

-Kamiya Residence-

"What are you doing?" Kari asked, raising an eyebrow at the mess her brother had created in their room.

"I was looking for my old address book," Tai answered dizzily, "Except I can't find it."

"I'm helping, too," Agumon answered from underneath a pile of books and papers, "But I can't find anything, either."

"You'd be able to if you decided to clean up and organize once in a while," Kagome commented dryly.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Kari wore a pair of pink capris with a sleeveless yellow top, a small pink scarf tied around her neck, a silver whistle hanging around her neck down to her chest, and a pair of white socks on her feet.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Kagome wore a short-sleeved lavender dress with a pair of white mid-calf-length tights, with a white scarf that had lavender accents wrapped around her neck so that one end hung down to her waist, and a pair of white ankle socks. Around her waist was a brown belt, to which a small black pouch was attached. She wore a pair of white fingerless gloves that went just past her wrists and her hair was left down to her waist.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Tai!" came their mother's voice. "Izzy's at the door!"

"Uh, coming!" Tai called back as he inched out of his room into the hallway with Agumon glued to his back and Kagome and Kari following behind just in case.

It seemed as though it were the right thing to do since the moment Tai and Agumon had passed by the kitchen, and their mother's sight, the small orange dinosaur tripped, landing on Tai with a loud 'thud'.

Airi Kamiya turned to see what had made the noise to find her eldest daughter on the floor with her youngest in her lap, both giggling nervously. She smiled at their antics before turning back to her cooking.

This gave Tai and Agumon a chance to escape through the front door with Kagome and Kari following suit a few moments after; Kagome slipping into her black converse and Kari into a pair of red sneakers.

"Now, make sure you go only where you know," Kagome told Kari, "don't talk to anyone you don't know, let alone go near them and—"

"Kagome!" Kari exclaimed, giggling. "I'll be fine; I know what I should and shouldn't do, so don't worry so much. But if you're not going to come home for lunch, then call, okay? You know how Mama and I worry."

"Don't we both," Kagome sighed, smiling. "All right, then. I'll see you later!" And with that, the two sisters parted ways, the youngest calling out for their family cat that'd gone missing that morning.

"It's all right, she's gone," Kagome said softly.

The girl's 'scarf' shifted slightly and Kudamon's head popped out from the curtain of her hair to rest just below Kagome's ear.

"Well, this isn't how I thought we'd be going out," Kudamon commented. "But it makes for good camouflage."

Kagome nodded with a giggle as her Digimon's fur tickled her skin slightly. "So where to?"

"That way," Kudamon motioned to the right turn after the crosswalk. "Keeping going that way and I'll lead you to where our target is at."

Kagome nodded in assent and walked. "Kudamon, do you think that Myotismon has anything to do with the women fainting over town?" Tai had stayed up late telling her and Kari everything that had happened from the time he went back to the Digital World to the moment he came back home again.

"It's possible," Kudamon replied. "Tai _did_ describe as a—what was it called again?"

"A Vampire," Kagome answered. "Those are only myths here, though."

"But in the Digital World myths can become a reality," Kudamon reminded her, "just in a different form. Look at me, I'm a Digimon, to most humans I don't exist, but I would to those who are aware. Turn left."

"I guess you're right," the raven-haired girl conceded, as she turned in said direction.

"We're here," Kudamon narrowed his eyes warily, around the Aqua City shopping centre they'd walked to.

"Once again it's in a place with a bunch of people," Kagome said dryly. "Seriously, would it kill them to pick someplace quiet for once?"

"Well you need to remember that they're working for Myotismon who is searching for the Eighth Child," Kudamon reminded.

"Who is the Eighth Child, anyway?" Kagome asked walking through the centre, doing a little window shopping here and there to keep up appearances. "I know I'm one of the missing ones, though they don't know that. But who's the other?"

"According to Tai, it's someone that remembers the event at Highton View Terrace four years ago," Kagome explained. "But the only problem is that a lot of children that lived at Highton View Tearrace during that time either don't remember because they were too young, or because they just never saw the fight."

"That's true, but I have my suspicions," Kudamon nodded.

"Really who?" Kagome asked.

Kudamon was about to answer, when he ticked his ear slightly.

"What's wrong" Kagome asked. "Do you hear something?"

"I think—" Kudamon began.

"Whoo-WHOOOOOOOO!" A deep gruff voice cut off the fox-like Digimon as a large train Digimon burst out from a dark portal.

"What the heck is a train doing the shopping district?" Kagome shouted as she ducked into an alley to get out of the Digimon's way. "Kudamon just what is that?!"

**"Locomon,"** Kudamon answered. **"An Ultimate Level Digimon whose purpose is to go and keep going!"** he looked at Kagome. "That's our target right there!"

"Wheel Grinder!" Locomon's spiked wheels glowed as copies of them were shot anywhere and everywhere, destroying whatever they came in contact with.

By this point, everyone within the shopping centre was screaming in panic as they ran for cover, fearing the animate train that was hell-bent on causing mayhem.

* * *

-Opposite Side of Odaiba-

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, three children were struck unconscious as they received three crests; two courtesy of DemiDevimon while the last was distributed by Gatomon.

Myotismon only grinned maliciously as he felt three more bolts run through his soul. His plan was coming along perfectly.

* * *

-Aqua City Shopping Centre-

(AN: Well, I had to give the place a name, and continuously calling it shopping centre would be really general considering the fact that there would most likely be more than one shopping centre, big or small, in a single town or city.)

"I think it's time for you to Digivolve," Kagome told her partner determinedly. She held her arm out, watching as Kudamon hovered along it into the air.

The Digimon was overcome with a white glow as the small fox-like Digimon changed into something much bigger. "Kudamon Digivolve to: Reppamon!"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Reppamon was a large Digimon at least ten to twelve times Kagome's height. He had the body of a fox covered in cream-hued fur with dark-brown on his legs, a white mask with red accents and whiskers poking out of it and no eyeholes covered the head of what seemed to be a cat from the uncovered bottom of his muzzle. Thick white fur sprouted from underneath the back of his mask going down to where his shoulder blades were with raggedy sky-blue strips of what seemed to be cloth emerged from the part of his muzzle that was visible hanging around him as though suspended by air. He wore a braided collar of red and white with small strings of paper diamond chains hanging off of it, a yin-yang symbol was stamped onto the side of his thighs, and his tail was a large angled silver and violet blade with an eye printed on it.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Okay, big," Kagome whispered with wide eyes. "Go Reppamon! Stop him before he hurts someone!"

Reppamon leaped into the air and began spinning. "Sky Fissure!" When he'd gained enough momentum, the Digimon struck downward with its blade tail, catching Locomon in its face, leaving a dent and some scratches, but no real damage.

Kagome rushed out of her hiding place and began to lead the stragglers into places that weren't likely to get hit or out of the shopping centre if she could.

"Beast Fang!" Reppamon dug his sharp claws into Locomon's wheels, but like his previous attack, this did little to no damage, either.

"Steam Bomb!" A large ball of dense smoke was launched out of Locomon's smokestack as Reppamon, exploding on contact, knocking the fox-like Digimon back into a, thankfully empty, shop.

* * *

-Tai and His Friends-

"Well that killed the day," Mimi grumbled as she, Sora, Tai, and Izzy sat in the shade of some trees away from prying eyes with their Digimon. "How were we supposed to know that that brute was going to be at the Tower?"

"We didn't," Izzy confirmed. "But that just means that we need to be all the more careful. Myotismon's goons are attacking all around the city, so we really can't relax. But—hey! Take a look at this!"

At Izzy's exclamation, they all crowded around the small boy and his laptop, wanting to see just what had caught the boy's attention.

There on the screen was live footage of a Digimon battle at the Aqua City Shopping Centre. The fight was between what looked like a large train and a huge fox. "What the…" Tai muttered.

"I don't get it," Mimi said. "Who's fighting who?"

"Could one of the Digimon belong to the Eighth Child?" Sora asked.

"It's a possibility," Izzy nodded.

"Hey, does anyone even know what those Digimon are?" Tai asked.

"I'd be happy to oblige," Tentomon volunteered. **"Locomon is an Ultimate Level, Machine Type Digimon whose purpose is to go and keep going. Though you'd do well to avoid his Wheel Grinder attacks."**

"And the other?" Mimi asked.

**"Reppamon is a Champion Level, Exhalted Beast Digimon,"** Tentomon answered. **"With his Sky Fissure attack coming at you, this is one Digimon you can never drop your guard around."**

* * *

-Aqua City Shopping Centre-

"Reppamon!" Kagome called out in worry for her friend and partner. _'No, you have to get up! If you don't, all these people are going to get hurt! You said that Locomon just keeps on going, so when he's done here, who's to say that he won't go near my family and so many others? I could care less if I got hurt, but no one else will!'_ "REPPAMON!"

Underneath her dress, Kagome's crest began to glow, as did her digivice. A pure white glow over took Reppamon as he digivolved once more. "Reppamon Digivolve to: Chinrinmon!"

* * *

-Tai and His Friends-

The group just stared at the screen with wide eyes.

"Did that Digimon just—?" Sora broke off.

"Yup," Palmon answered in awe.

"But how?" Tai asked.

"Maybe he belongs to the Eighth Child?" Biyomon suggested.

"That's a definitely possibility," Izzy confirmed. "Digimon all digivolve throughout their lives though maybe at different times, but if the last Digimon was a Champion Level, I'd bet that it digivolved from a Rookie. And the fact that he's gone onto Ultimate just means that this child had a crest."

"So who's this?" Mimi asked.

**"That's Chinrinmon, an Ultimate Level Exhalted Beast Digimon,"** Agumon answered. **"He's a compassionate Digimon that usually gates fighting. But be careful of causing meaningless damage, his Heaven's Gale attack will take out any enemy quicker than you can say 'cheese'."**

"Wow," Tai breathed.

* * *

-Aqua City Shopping District-

"Oh my—" Kagome breathed out at the sight of her partner. "What just happened?"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

This Digimon was just about the same size as Reppamon, if not a yard taller. He was a large four legged dragon whose torso and legs were encased in brown cloth before being covered in some areas with gold and green armor that had the occasional red gem attached onto them. On his legs were what looked like black boots with cloudy swirls on either side of each paw with a gold band of lightning connecting them.

The upper half of his body was left uncovered, leaving his deep-green and mint scaled head visible. He had violet eyes, a beard of white that was his muzzle stretched to the back of his neck to meet and connect with the crimson hair sprouting back from the top of his head, and a wavy maroon horn placed where his crimson hair began to grow from. Two long strands of sky-blue sprouted from his muzzle like the whiskers of a traditional dragon. From his shoulders and back sprouted two pure-white feathery wings and a long tail of thick gold curls dragged along the ground.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"It was you, Kagome," Chinrinmon said, his voice having deepened a few octaves, but still sounding warm to the girl's ears. "Your desire to protect others above yourself was what gave me the power to digivolve."

And with that said, the dragon-like Digimon sped off for the nonstop train Digimon with just a push of his legs along the ground, looking as though he were gliding.

"Wheel Grinder!" Spiked wheels were launched at Chinrinmon who dodged them with his added speed.

"Swift Knowledge!" Chinrinmon sped up around the train Digimon so fast, that copies of him were being left around the area.

"Smoke Bomb!" Locomon shot off an array of his smoke bombs at each of the Chinrinmon he saw, only for the bombs to disintegrate into simple smoke when there was nothing to impact.

"Heaven's Gale!"The dragon Digimon flew high up into the air before abruptly swooping down, gaining more and more momentum the closer he got to the ground, only to pierce the side of the Digimon's engine.

A bright light erupted from the place where Chinrinmon's horn struck Locomon and before the train Digimon shattered into bits of data that soon disappeared.

A small sparkle caught Kagome'e eye when the machine Digimon had finally disappeared. Curious, the girl went forward and picked up the object and stashed it in her pouch just as Chinrinmon came to let her on his back before anymore of the press showed up.

* * *

-Tai and His Friends-

The group just stared at the computer screen in amazement as they watched Chinrinmon take Locomon down as though it were nothing.

"Hey, it looks like he's letting someone on his back!" Mimi pointed out

It was true; they tried to see just who or what the dragon Digimon was picking up when he knelt, but with the angle the camera was at, no one was able to see anything but a small speck. And even then, if the angle were correct, the dragon digimon's huge wings would have shielded the person from view anyway.

"Okay," Sora commented, "so at least we know that whoever that was, they live close to where we do."

Izzy nodded. "But don't get your hopes up. We haven't gotten a signal on our digivices yet and for all we know, that child and his Digimon could have come from a whole other town."

"That's true…" Tai murmured. "I guess we'll just have to keep on searching…"

* * *

-Kagome & Chinrinmon-

"Are you sure you're okay?" Kagome asked her Digimon worriedly as she climbed off of his back. They'd flown straight from the Aqua City shopping centre to roof of the apartment complex Kagome's family lived in.

A golden glow engulfed the large Digimon as he shrunk down, changing form. What was left behind wasn't Kudamon, but his In-Training form: Puttimon.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

The little Digimon was literally a soft white ball with large black eyes and a soft white horn-like section standing up from its head down to a curl towards the bottom. Two small golden wings poked out from its back near the sides of its head, which could technically also be considered its body.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"K-Kudamon?" Kagome blinked at the tiny white puffball, resisting the urge to squeal and hug it close like some plushie. _'No Kagome…don't touch…he might not like that…'_

"Uh-uh!" the little Digimon chirped. "I'm Puttimon! I used to be Kudamon, and I'll go back once I'm rested up!"

Kagome twitched. _'One teensy-weensy hug wouldn't hurt, right?'_

The smile fell from the little puffball's face. "Kagome?"

The raven-haired girl couldn't resist. She rushed forward with a 'squee' of delight and took the little Digimon into her arms, cooing about how adorable he was.

Puttimon only blinked for a moment before snuggling into her arms. _'She's warm…'_ it wasn't long before the little Digimon was lulled to sleep.

"I guess we better get home if there's nothing left to do right now," Kagome commented, walking through the door on the roof down to her family's apartment.

"I'm home!" Kagome called as she took of her shoes carefully, trying not to jostle the small puffball in her arms.

"Kagome!" Kari said excitedly, running out of their room. "You believe what I fo—"

The young girl stopped short at the sight of the small sleeping Digimon in her sister's arms.

Kagome stiffened. _'Dang it! This wasn't supposed to happen!'_

"You have one?" Kari asked quietly as the duo walked to their room. "Does that mean that you have that digivice thing Tai was talking about, too?"

Kagome, seeing no reason to lie to her sister, nodded and showed her the crest around her neck and brought the digivice out from inside her pouch.

"How long?" Kari asked. "And why didn't you say something before?"

"My Digimon came the night of the day Tai left three days ago after coming home with Koromon," Kagome told her sister. "I didn't say anything because Kudamon, my Digimon, told me not to because I had to wait until the right time."

"Then aren't you the Eighth Child Tai and his friends are looking for?" Kari asked.

Kagome shook her head. "I'm one of the DigiDestined, but I'm not the Eighth. From what Kudamon told me, I should be the Ninth. Now what was it that you wanted to show me?"

Kari looked at her fisted hand and then up at her sister hesitantly. "Well, when I came home, I was looking for Meeko and figured that she might've gone up into my bed again, so I checked. But she wasn't there and I was going to check around the house, when I found this under my pillow."

The young girl opened her fisted hand to reveal the familiar white and blue-accented digivice exactly like the ones Kagome and Tai had.

"Kari…" Kagome breathed out. "You're—" She was cut off by a glow coming from her pouch that reacted with Kari's digivice, making it glow a pale-pink.

Kagome opened her pouch and took out the little object she'd picked up from the fight between her Digimon and Locomon. It was a gold tag just like hers, but the crest within was pink with an eight-pointed star etched into it. The crest at the moment was glowing in time with the digivice within Kari's hand.

Neither girl had noticed, but the combined glow from the crest and digivice had woken the small Digimon in Kagome's lap. Puttimon stared at the digivice in his partner's sister's hand and the crest his partner held in hers.

"This must be—" Kagome began.

"It's her crest," Puttimon broke in. "But it's not the real thing."

"What?" The girls said in unison.

"Just a minute," Puttimon said as he hopped down from Kagome's lap. "Puttimon Digivolve to: Kudamon!" The familiar white glow overcame the little puffball, shifting to the more familiar form of Kudamon.

The fox-like Digimon glided back to curl up in Kagome's lap, raised his head to speak to the girls.

"You were Kagome's scarf!" Kari realized, to which the Digimon just gave a nod.

"What did you mean, Kudamon?" Kagome asked, steering them back on topic. "How isn't this the real crest?"

"Tai told you that Myotismon was using the Digimon he brought with him to help search for the Eighth Child," Kudamon explained. "However, no one knew the identity of that child, but he probably had their crest. Each crest will react to their owners' digivices; and it was that concept that he must have used. All the Digimon out in the city couldn't be carrying the same crest or be passing it along to one another; no that would take too much time. So I think Myotismon must have created copies of the real crest. This won't help your partner digivolve, this copy was only designed to react to the digivice the original is bonded to."

"Actually," Kagome blinked before turning to Kari. "Do you know who your partner is?"

Kari shook her head in negative.

"That's odd," Kudamon said. "Usually once the digivice is found, the Digimon wouldn't be too far behind from finding their partner. That is, if the Digimon even knew that it had a partner…"

Kari wandered around in her mind, sifting through memories, when a though occurred to her. "Do you think it could that be that strange kitty I met today?"

"'Strange kitty'?" Kagome and Kudamon repeated in unison.

Kari nodded. "She was a really pretty kitty I met when I was out looking for Meeko. She was just wandering around until she started following me home."

"She followed you home?" Kagome muttered. "I wonder…" she glanced at Kudamon for a moment, getting only a nod in return; they both had the same thought. Maybe that cat wasn't an ordinary cat, but a Digimon instead. But could that Digimon have been working for Myotismon or was that Digimon actually Kari's partner?

Kagome's digivice began to beep. The raven-haired girl looked down at it, only to see two dot next to each other and realized that they represented her and Kari's digivices. It was then that something hit Kagome. If digivices could pick up on each other's signals, then why didn't Tai's pick up on Kari's or hers?

"Kudamon, why didn't Tai's digivice pick up on my signal or even Kari's?" Kagome asked.

"That's simple," Kudamon told her. "Kari's wasn't sensed because she hadn't discovered it yet. The moment she did would be the moment her signal would be picked up by anyone searching. Yours wasn't picked up because you didn't want to be found despite it being activated. The Digital World isn't just made of data, but also belief and wishes. You wished not to be found, and so your digivice must have reacted to that wish and hid its signal."

"Will that work for me?" Kari asked suddenly.

"It should," Kudamon said slowly. "But the signal will only be hidden from the digivices, not from the false crests being used to find you."

"Kari, maybe you should tell Tai," Kagome said with worried eyes.

"Not until you do," Kari said determinedly. "You have a reason for keeping hidden, and until you tell, I won't."

Kagome looked at Kudamon for help and only received a soft look in reply. He sighed and nodded in resignation.

"All right, then," Kagome relented. "But make sure you keep your digivice with you at all times."

"And if you want to stay hidden from the other digivices, then wish hard for that to happen and continue wishing, even if it's not out loud," Kudamon added.

Kari nodded and clipped the device to the pocket of her capris, the clip being on the outside, while the digivice was faced towards the inside.

* * *

-Digital World-

"Come in my friend," Gennai greeted Centarumon, allowing the Digimon to enter his home. "So what brings you here?" he asked as they both sat down at the table, a cup of tea set before them both.

"I'm afraid that I must be the bearer of bad news," Centarumon said ruefully, bowing his head.

"It can't be that bad, can it?" the Data-Human asked nervously. _'He couldn't have found out that I wasn't sticking to the diet that blasted Digi-Doctor prescribed…could he?'_

"It is about the crests belonging to the DigiDestined," Centarumon said seriously.

Gennai sat up straighter, all the while giving a mental sigh of relief. "What about them?"

"They weren't the only crests created," Centarumon said grimly.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

A few moments later found Gennai hurrying to his own computer, trying to contact Izzy. After several failed tries at getting a connection with the intelligent boy, the Data-Human decided to create a self-video explaining what he'd found out from Centarumon and even including some quickly computer-generated diagrams to help with the explanation.

Gennai sighed as he hit the 'send' button. "I hope they get this in time; because if they don't, then those children will have much more than just Myotismon to worry about." _'Much more…'_

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	5. Book One: Revealed

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

AN: Oh, before I forget to mention, the outfit Kagome was wearing in the previous chapter will be usually what she wears until I specify something different. And if I say pajamas, then you'll know what she's wearing as well. If not, refer back to the previous chapter and the second chapter.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-Revealed-Xx**

"Why has the Eighth Child not been found yet?!" Myotismon roared at his assembly of Digimon. "Those children have defeated Mammothmon, SkullMermamon, Gesomon, Raremon, and now even Locomon is gone!"

"Milord," a Digimon spoke, kneeling. "If I may?"

"Speak," the undead Digimon sneered.

"Lord Myotismon," the Digimon spoke from the shadows, "you gave us information on each of the known DigiDestined and their Digimon. However, the Digimon that had defeated Locomon was never mentioned. I believe that there is another Child besides the Eighth to be found, Milord."

Myotismon's eyes narrowed. "Is this true?" he asked to all the other Digimon before him.

"Yes Lord Myotismon," they all answered.

"Tch," Myotismon's jaw clenched. "You are dismissed. Continue with your mission."

"How could I have forgotten?" the undead Digimon hissed. "I gave Gatomon and DemiDevimon nine crests to find nine children. It would only make sense for there to be nine DigiDestined. But this complicates things…an extra player into the game that has already begun…"

* * *

-Izumi Residence-

Izzy yawned as he crawled out of bed and powered on his laptop, intending on checking the DigiRadar Gennai had installed.

The familiar nebula desktop came into view and Izzy clicked on the file labeled "Digital World" and brought up the familiar icons he'd browsed through the first time he'd gone through whatever Gennai had inserted into his computer. However, unlike last time, this time there was a new icon of Gennai's head with a red number one wiggling back and forth; this particular icon being labeled "Com-Link".

"Hm," Izzy hummed as he clicked on the icon and began to watch the video message Gennai had sent him.

With each passing moment, the intelligent boy's eye grew wider and wider, and by the end, his eyes were completely devoid of sleep. Tentomon who'd woken up by the middle of Gennai's message watched as Izzy dressed hurriedly, packed up and made his way to the phone.

Getting the idea, the insectoid Digimon put on his disguise consisting of a green hoodie and a yellow cap. He watched as Izzy called each of his friends, asking to set up a meeting with everyone and that it was of the utmost importance. Tentomon watched as Izzy gave him the signal before following him out the door.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

-Shiokaze Park-

"Sorry I'm late!" Tai shouted as he and Agumon joined the rest of their group in a secluded part of the part, surrounded by tree to keep them from prying eyes. "I had a little trouble getting away from my mom this morning."

"Just sit down will ya?" Matt told the brown-haired boy. He turned to Izzy. "So what was this about?"

"This morning I was just oing to check the DigiRadar to see if anymore of Myotismon's henchmen were attacking," Izzy explained. "But instead, I found a message from Gennai."

The group gasped.

"What was it about?" Mimi asked.

"Well," Izzy said. "Maybe I should show you, instead." He clicked a few things and pressed a few buttons before turning his laptop so the screen faced them.

(AN: Now for my sanity's sake, I'm going to have the message put in italics just as I'd put the television report of Garudamon's fight with Mammothmon.)

_"Hello, children," Gennai greeted, "I hope you are all well and are well on your way to finding the Eighth Child."_

"Not exactly," Tai muttered.

_"However, this isn't the time for pleasantries," Gennai said seriously. "Tonight Centarumon came to my home with urgent news. As you know, he is the Guardian of the Temple of Destiny."_

(AN: I couldn't remember the name of the temple so I made one up.)

_"This morning Cetarumon discovered something that even I never knew about the DigiDestined and their crests," the Data-Human continued. "It seems as though the crests you have weren't the only ones in existence. There was another set."_

"WHAT?!" the group, bar Izzy shouted.

_"The crests you have are known as the Crests of Harmony that help to maintain and restore the balance of the Digital World if it is ever in peril," Gennai explained. "The other set are known as the Crests of Discord, destined to bring nothing but chaos and destruction."_

"Those sound like real bad news," Matt murmured.

_"The Crests of Harmony consist of the crests of Courage, Friendship, Love, Sincerity, Knowledge, Reliability, Hope, Light, and Compassion. The Crests of Discord consist of the crests of Rage, Hostility, Greed, Jealousy, Betrayal, Despair, Desire, Darkness, and Apathy."_

_Eighteen images were shown lined up. The nine Crests of Harmony on top over the nine Crests of Discord._

"Wait, I'm pretty sure he just named nine crests for each type," Sora said, alarmed.

_"I'm sure that you've noticed by now that there weren't eight crests named, but nine. That is because there are nine DigiDestined. When I sent you to search for the last child, I should have told you to look for the last children, but like I said, I never knew that there was a Ninth Child until now or I'd have said something._

_"The Crests of Harmony were created for the seven of you and the last two DigiDestined. But as you know, there can never be darkness without light or there will never be any balance. The Crests of Discord were created of the dark energies the Crests of Harmony broke away from. I've just gotten word that those Crests have been stolen from within the Temple, where they should have been sealed for eternity and I assume that it was Myotismon who'd done it._

_"Now, I'm afraid that your original mission has only grown more difficult. You must find the last two DigiDestined Children and the Crests of Discord. If those crests are given to children that they choose, then that child will become what is called a De-DigiDestined, those who will fight to spread chaos under the control of Myotismon. And then, the only way to stop them will be to destroy the crests and defeat the Digimon those children are granted. I wish you luck and have hopes that you will prevail."_

The screened went black as the message ended.

"Man oh man if our original mission wasn't hard enough!" Joe panicked. "How are we supposed to find the last two DigiDestined _and_ the Crests of Discord, assuming that they haven't been given to children yet, which I think is highly unlikely since the amount of time we've been here so far could've given Myotismon enough time to find those kids and—"

"Chill, Joe," Tai said, stopping his friend's nervous rambling. "Right now, we really need to focus on finding the last two DigiDestined."

"But what about those other crests?" T.K asked. "Didn't Gennai jus say that we need to find 'em before kids get 'em?"

"Yeah," Tai nodded, "but we don't even know how to find them, let alone where to start. So for the time being, we're just going to stick to our original mission: Find the last DigiDestined before Myotismon. That'll be our priority."

"Except I don't know just how much time we even have left," Matt said worriedly. "Last night when I was taking T.K home, we ran into a couple Digimon that came on Myotismon's orders, except they weren't exactly interested in finding the Eighth Child."

"Say what?" Biyomon cocked her head slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"They just liked having fun," T.K clarified.

Matt nodded. "Yeah, anyway, when Myotismon found out, boy did he get mad. He took Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon out in the blink of an eye. And judging from what I heard on the news about that 'sudden anemia epidemic', he's definitely on a warpath…"

"And before I forget," Joe spoke up, "I called everyone in your address books, but not a single one of them remembered what happened at Highton View Terrace. And when I say that, none of them ever saw the fight we did."

"That's impossible!" Izzy exclaimed. "Out of everyone in those books, at last a couple should've remembered something!"

"Think what you want," Joe shook his head. "But everyone I asked said that they didn't know what I was talking about."

They sat in silence, contemplating what they should do now that they had no leads on who the last DigiDestined were.

Suddenly Tai stood up. "We're not going to anything done if we just sit here, so let's go!"

And with that said, they all paired off and spread out over the city, doing their best to locate the last two children before Myotismon and his Digimon did.

* * *

-Fuji TV Station; That Night-

Myotismon stood atop the ball-structure of the TV station, waving his arms to summon fog with every motion. The fog continued to grow denser and denser until it practically clouded the entire city from the rest of the world and its country.

He gave a sinister laugh. "Just a little more and this world will be mine. Neither by fire or ice, but by fog instead! No one will escape; no one will be _able_ to escape!"

Suddenly, he felt four jolts pass through his body and smirked maliciously. "Well, well, it seems as though they've succeeded," the undead Digimon chuckled darkly. "I wonder: Should I summon them now or save them as a wonderful surprise for those pathetic DigiDestined?"

* * *

-Kaiya Residence-

"Oh man," Tai sighed as he slumped onto the couch beside Kari and Kagome who had Kudamon wrapped around her neck like a scarf again. "I'm bushed. We searched all day, but we _still _haven't found those kids…"

Kagome and Kari exchanged glances with one another, but didn't say a word as Agumon devoured piece after piece of watermelon that Kagome had cut for them all.

The phone rang and Tai ran to get it, thinking it might be one of his friends.

True to his thought, it was Izzy that had called. Not wanting his sisters to hear anything to make them worry, Tai took the cordless landline and took it into their room.

"Hey, where's Meeko?" Kari asked, looking around for the cat.

"Wasn't she here just a minute ago?" Kagome asked, looking around the living room for hide or hair of the bi-coloured cat.

Kari nodded, standing up to look for the feline. "I wonder…"

Knowing that Kari would be safe so long as she was in the house, Kagome let her look for Meeko on her own while she watched the news.

"Myotismon seems to be picking up the pace," Kagome muttered. "Do you think he's getting desperate?"

"Who knows?" Kudamon asked. "But with the increasing number of women suffering from this 'anemia' epidemic, I'd say that Myotismon isn't getting desperate, but angry."

Kari, then came close to the sliding doors to the terrace and placed Meeko back inside the house before closing it behind her, running out to the terrace to look at something or another that had caught her attention.

"Because he wants to find Kari as soon as he can?" Kagome looked at her partner out of the corner of her eye.

"Most likely," Kudamon nodded. Suddenly, he lifted his head a little higher and his eyes narrowed slightly as he ticked his ears slightly. "Go out to the terrace! Someone is out there with Kari and Tai!"

"What?" Kagome all but shouted, running to the sliding doors and pulling them open. She came out to see a small feline Digimon with a Digimon dressed as a mage in a violet cloak in front of Kari. The feline had placed her hand over Kari's which held her digivice. Tai was standing across from the sliding doors to the terrace from their room, Agumon at his side, bother their stances screaming that they were ready to protect the young girl.

Kagome looked at Kudamon and he nodded. This Digimon must have been the 'kitty' Kari had spoken of before. And judging from the way the feline Digimon and Kari were standing, it was clear that that small Digimon was Kari's partner.

"Kari get away from them!" Tai called. "Those are evil Digimon!"

"No," Kari tried reasoning, "you don't understand! Gatomon's been searching for—"

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon let loose a fireball in their direction. However, the one thing they didn't notice was that where the fireball was aimed at was also where Kari was.

_'It's now or never,'_ Kagome thought, sticking her arm out as Gatomon stood before Kari to protect her. "Kudamon!"

"What?" Tai whispered, watching as a long thin Digimon unwrapped itself from around Kagome's neck and across her arm into the fireball's path.

_'I knew it…'_ Agumon thought.

"Glorious Whirlwind!" Kudamon spun his entire body in a wide circular spiral aimed in the fireball's direction. Gold-hued wind with tiny gold particles emerged in a twister that was shot at the fireball, cancelling out the attack.

"How the—why—WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!" Tai sputtered.

"Hello, I'm the ninth DigiDestined, my name is Kagome Kamiya and you're welcome," Kagome said dryly.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Tai asked.

"Actually," Kagome corrected. "You only asked if I had a digivice and I only said 'who knows?', I never really answered you that one time when you asked. As for why, Kudamon told me I shouldn't tell until the time was right and Kari said she wouldn't say anything about her until I revealed myself."

"Oh and Kari is the eighth DigiDestined Child with Gatomon as her partner," Kagome added.

Tai just stared with a dropped jaw.

"I think we found more than we came for," the mage-like Digimon commented.

"Oh and who are you?" Kagome asked said Digimon.

"Wizardmon," he bowed, "a friend of Gatomon. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise," Kagome nodded with a smile. She looked back at her brother and went over to physically clamp his jaw shut. "Seriously? Is it really that surprising?"

"I just didn't expect it, that's all," Tai shook his head.

"But Kagome's right," Agumon pointed out. "She never said that she never had a digivice, and neither did Kari, actually. Kagome didn't directly answer and Kari seemed unsure. Plus, Gatomon really must be her Digimon if she tried protecting Kari at her own risk."

"Now all that's left is to get the real crest," Wizardmon said.

"The real crest?" Tai asked.

"The crests we were given were copies made to locate the digivice," Gatomon explained, holding up one of the false crests. "Myotismon is the only one with access to the real crest."

"But for the time being," Wizardmon gently took Kari's digivice and held it out to Tai and Kagome, "One of you must hold on to this. Kari can't be seen with it or who knows what may happen to Gatomon."

"I'll do it," Kagome said, taking the Digivice.

"We'll be back with the crest," Wizardmon told them, taking Gatomon and pushing off the terrace.

"Wait, where's Myotismon's hideout?" Tai asked. "We can help you!"

"It's too dangerous," Gatomon called back to them. "Don't worry, we'll be back with two sakes of a cat's tail!"

"Be careful, Gatomon!" Kari called out.

"Can we trust them?" Agumon asked.

"We can," Kagome said firmly. "We can definitely trust them."

"Besides," Tai added to his partner, "we don't have any other choice at this point."

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

-Some time Later-

Kari, Kagome, Tai, and Agumon stood looking over the terrace, Kudamon hanging around Kagome's shoulders.

"I still can't believe it," Tai said. "You two are DigiDestined."

"What's so surprising about that?" Kudamon asked. "They are destined to be as such."

"I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with that," Tai backpedaled. "But I just didn't want to get Kagome and Kari caught up in all of this. I didn't want them to get hurt."

"Tai," Kagome said softly. "As much as you didn't want to draw us in, just by being related to you, we were already in danger. And technically, even if we weren't DigiDestined, being by your side would still be a lot safer than anywhere else at this point."

"Mhm," Kari nodded in agreement, though worry for her Digimon still shone on her face.

"How _did_ you meet Kudamon, anyway?" Tai asked.

"Actually he found me," Kagome answered. "Like Gatomon found Kari." And with that, she began to tell Tai how Kudamon had found her and what he'd told her about himself and how he'd gotten to the Human World and what they'd done since then.

"You mean that was you?" Tai looked at his sister and Kudamon in surprise and awe. "You guys took down Locomon?!"

"Well, it was more Kudamon than me, but yeah," Kagome giggled.

"Look!" Kari suddenly shouted, pointing to the sky.

The two preteens and their Digimon looked up and found themselves looking at a large patch of dark clouds over the No. 6 Battery Island just a little while away from them. The clouds lit up as lightning struck and thunder crashed.

"That can't be good," Agumon commented.

'Maybe Wizardmon and Gatomon are going up against Myotismon!" Tai shouted. "C'mon, Agumon, we've got to go and help!"

"Oh please let me come with you!" Kari begged.

"No, you stay here with Kagome, where you'll be safe," Tai told his youngest sister.

"Then take Kudamon," Kagome told him, "He can get you there faster than you can go on foot."

Kudamon launched himself off the side of the terrace. "Kudamon Digivolve to: Reppamon!"

Reppamon landed safely on the ground and waited for Tai an Agumon to arrive.

"Thanks," Tai grinned at his sister as he and his partner rushed out of the house.

"Everything'll be fine," Kagome told her sister, hugging the little girl, though they both could hear that the raven-haired girl didn't believe a word she'd spoken.

And with that said, the sister watched the thundering clouds in silence, waiting for their brother to come home safely with Gatomon and Wizardmon.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"So?" Kari asked when Tai came back with Agumon and Kudamon. "Where's Gatomon? What happened? Where's Wizardmon?"

Tai just shook his head. "I don't know what happened to Wizardmon," he said, "but Gatomon was taken away by Myotismon. He's going to use her to draw you out."

_'Not if I can do anything about that,'_ Kagome thought with narrowed eyes, a plan formulating in her head.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"I hope Gatomon's okay…" Kari whispered.

"She'll be fine, Kari," Tai told her gently. "She's a fighter, you know that. She'll never give up."

"I guess so," Kari nodded, but hesitated going up her ladder.

Kagome's eyes softened. "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

"Can I?" Kari asked with pleading eyes.

"Come on," Kagome stepped out and pulled the covers back, allowing Kari to get in first before following after and pulling the covers over them both. "Go to sleep now, everything's going to be all right."

"You just leave everything to me," Tai told his sister.

And with that said, they were all soon lulled to sleep by Kagome's humming.

* * *

-The Next Morning-

Airi Kamiya moved about the kitchen as she did every morning, getting everyone's breakfast dishes washed and dried. "I hope your father's not stuck in the subway, what with all this fog around…"

"The phone's still out," Kagome said worriedly, holding the receiver to her ear before placing it back where it went.

"It's been like that since last night!" Tai muttered. "I wonder what's going on…"

_DING DONG! _The doorbell rang.

"I'll be right there!" Airi called, wiping her hands before making her way to the door.

A shiver ran up Kagome's spine. _'What was that?'_

"Hello—" Airi Kamiya greeted before a scream of fear took its place.

"Mama!"

"Mom!"

Instead of the strange looking men at her door, a small cluster of Bakemon stormed into the house.

Agumon came out of the siblings' bedroom while Kudamon detached himself from Kagome.

"Pepper Breath!"

"Glorious Whirlwind!"

The fireball and sparkling twister hit the Bakemon, knocking them out of the way, but even more just stormed into the house after dragging their mother away.

"That's it," Agumon huffed. "Agumon Digivolve to: Greymon!"

The familiar white glow overtook Agumon as he digivolved to the very Greymon Kagome and Kari had seen in that fight four years before. Unfortunately, as he grew the now giant dinosaur Digimon burst through three floors worth of apartments below theirs.

"Kudamon, hide!" Kagome said quickly as she, Kari, and Tai climbed up onto Greymon's shoulders, Kagome holding onto Kari on one shoulder and Tai on the other, all of them keeping a hold on Greymon's mask to steady themselves while the fox-like Digimon did as he was told and rewrapped himself around Kagome's neck.

Once Greymon had bust through the side of the apartment complex with his human companions, they all found themselves being bombarded with screams of fear and terror.

"Oh no!"

"There's another one!"

"Where are my babies?!"

"What's happening?!"

"Why are all these monster suddenly appearing like this!"

"This Digimon isn't bad like a lot of the others you've been seeing around!" Tai shouted to the crowd that was being herded away from them all. "He's actually on our side!"

"Tai!" Airi shouted. "You and your sisters get down from that thing right now!"

"You don't understand, Mama," Kagome called out desperately as Greymon tried catching up to the crowd, dodging attacks from the Bakemon and Phantomon. "Not all of the Digimon are bad! This one is a good one!"

"We have to go my Mom, Greymon!" Tai shouted.

"Shadow Scythe!" Phantomon released a shadowy blade at Greymon, the attack knocking the Champion-level Digimon to the ground, but somehow managing to keep the children on him safe.

"I'm sorry, Tai," Greymon apologized as he ran from the apartment complex, "But we'll have to save your mother another time. Right now your safety and your sisters' is most important."

Tai's fist clenched but nodded in agreement. "Let's go."

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

-Aqua City; A While Later-

But the time they'd gotten out of the apartment complex's vicinity, Greymon was already weakening. Running for a distance after having taken that hit from Phantomon took a bit out of the dinosaur-like Digimon and it wasn't long before he de-digivolved back to Agumon.

"Come on," Tai told Agumon, kneeling down before him, "We can't stick around for long or we'll be the ones captured next!"

Agumon nodded as he clambered onto Tai's back, the boy automatically shifting slightly to hold Agumon's legs.

"C'mon, Kari," Kagome told her sister, kneeling before the little girl as Tai did for Agumon. Like Agumon, Kari nodded and carefully climbed up onto Kagome's back, minding Kudamon, who only shifted a bit to make room for the young girl.

When they were all situated, the two preteens broke into a run.

They'd ran for quite some time before they reached the Fuji TV Station.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Tai asked his partner.

"I've been better," Agumon said wearily.

Suddenly, they all stopped when they heard a voice. "Hey, Tai! Up here!"

"What the—Matt?" Tai asked, backpedaling to the opening of a warehouse a little bit away from the Fuji TV Station to see a blonde boy with a blue and white horned Digimon. "Hey we need to talk!"

And so Tai came in with Agumon followed by Kagome, Kari, and Kudamon. Once inside, the two preteens let their passengers off, though Kudamon preferred staying around his partner's neck his head popping out for all to see him.

"Okay, first: Introductions," Tai sighed. "Matt, these are my sisters, Kari and Kagome." He turned to his siblings. "Kagome, Kari, this is Matt Ishida and his partner, Gabumon." Tai glanced at Kagome and nodded at Kari.

Kagome understanding the message, turned to Kari. "Kari, why don't you go over there and see if Agumon's all right? If you want, I'm sure Gabumon would be happy to keep you company as well." She looked pleadingly at the said Digimon and received a nod in return as he guided the little girl and the other Digimon a little bit away from the preteens.

"All right, you can talk now," Kagome told her brother.

"Okay Kagome and Kari and the last DigiDestined," Tai blurted out.

"What?!" Matt stood up from his seat on the staircase. "You've got to be kidding me?!"

"Nope," Kagome shook her head. "This is my partner, Kudamon. And Kari's partner is Gatomon." She showed him her digivice.

"Pleased to meet you," Kudamon nodded.

"You too…" Matt returned slowly.

That said, Tai began to tell Matt what he found out and how, with Kagome interjecting to tell her side of the story.

* * *

-Convention Centre-

"Those brats are growing to become a great thorn in my side," Myotismon growled. "I suppose I'll need to summon them earlier than planned…"

The undead Digimon stood atop the convention centre and stuck his arms out in front of him, plams facing outward. He closed his eyes just as a dark-red glow surrounded his hands.

"Come to me," he said, "come to your master…" his eyes snapped open, the bi-coloured irisies no longer present, instead the same dark-red his hands glowed covered the entirety of his eyes.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Within the Convention Centre, nine children separated from their parents, standing up suddenly. Not noticed by anyone, their eyes were outlined very lightly in dark-red. They began to walk away from the group of captured people, not paying heed to anyone's calls for them to come back.

It was then that the people saw them. Nine Digimon crawled out from nine different hiding places and took their places at the sides of the child they belonged to, their eye's too glowing a deep red.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Mytoismon gave a sinister laugh when the nine children chosen by the Crests of Discord came to stand before him with their Digimon at their side, their minds as blank as their eyes.

"Go find the DigiDestined," he commanded, "And destroy them, once and for all…"

"Yes, Lord Myotismon," The children and digimon partners chorused with monotone voices.

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	6. Book One: A Trick

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!**

AN: Before I forget to mention, the outfit Kagome was wearing in the previous chapter will be what she will usually wear until I specify something different. And if I say pajamas, then you'll know what she's wearing as well. If not, refer back to the the second chapter.

Oh and I'd forgotten to mention this in the previous chapter, but credit for a few of the details for this story goes to my brother, who actually helped me with the arrangement of some details.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-A Trick-Xx**

-Fuji TV Station-

"Are you kidding me?!" Tai shouted.

"Nope," Matt shook his head. "Myotismon's using this fog barrier to keep everyone trapped in the city so he could find the Eighth Child."

"And let me guess there's not stopping him until he finds her," Tai said sarcastically.

Kagome looked back at Kari, who was with Agumon and Gabumon, worriedly, hoping that the young girl didn't hear anything to make her worry. "Could you keep it down?" Kagome asked, but neither boy heard her. She looked down at Kudamon and sighed. _'This isn't going to go well…'_

"That's right," Matt nodded, "and there's no way to tell what he won't do unless he gets her."

"It's all my fault isn't, it?" came Kari's voice.

"What?" Tai asked.

"It's my fault he's doing this, right?" Kari asked. "He's looking for me, and that's why Mama and Daddy are—"

"Good job, Geniuses," Kagome whispered to the boys, who had the decency to look a little ashamed for talking so loud in the first place. She walked over to Kari and knelt down before her. "Kari, honey, it's not your fault. Besides, he's looking for me, remember, and if that bit with Locomon was anything to go by, he's probably got it into his head that I'm the Eighth Child, so either way you look at it, it's not your fault."

"Kagome's right," Tai knelt down in front of his youngest sister next to his other sibling. "This is just the way things are, it's called destiny. Now, you listen to me, I'm going to get Mom and dad, and even Gatomon and Wizardmon back, too, okay? So don't you worry about a thing!"

"Matt," Tai called back to the blonde boy, standing up with his sister, who kept an arm around their youngest sibling. "Can you keep an eye on Kagome and Kari until I get back?"

The blonde looked taken aback and slightly uncomfortable by the request, but nodded anyway. "Uh, sure; no prob," he said awkwardly.

Tai turned back to Kari. "Now, Kari, I need you to be a big, strong girl for me while I'm gone, okay? And besides, Kagome and Matt are here, so you'll be safe with them." _'Though I'm still counting on him to keep the both of you safe…'_

"Please be careful," Kari caught her brother around his waist.

"What she said," Kagome told Tai, "If I find out that you did something reckless…well, you won't like it." She hugged her brother around the neck before taking Kari by the shoulders and backing away from their brother.

"I'm always careful!" Tai gave his sisters a thumbs up. He checked the clock on his digivice and saw that it read 7.30AM. "Okay, it's seven-thirty right now, so give me two hours. If we're not back by then, you guys get out of here." He turned to Agumon. "Let's go!"

"Right!" Agumon saluted as he ran off after his partner.

"Be careful, man!" Matt called.

"See ya soon, everything's gonna be all ri—ACK!" Tai called back before he and Agumon tripped down the stairs.

"Oh, I hope they'll be all right," Kari said worriedly. (And with good reason, too, if you ask me…)

Kagome sweat-dropped, _'I wonder about that, too, Kari. I wonder about that too…'_

Matt just sighed in exasperation, glancing at the two sisters.

* * *

-Convention Centre-

Gatomon stood at the front of a long line of frightened children of all ages, the Bakemon directing the children to the front.

"It's not him," Gatomon shook her head.

"Next," a Bakemon said, gesturing for another child to step forward.

"It's not her," Gatomon shook her head again.

"Beware, Gatomon," Myotismon said as he materialized behind the feline Digimon, "If you lie to me, I will simply destroy them all!"

Gatomon shivered with fear. _'Where are you, Tai? You said you'd help me! I don't know how much longer I can hold him off of Kari's trail!'_

* * *

-Aqua City Warehouse-

"So you're the last two DigiDestined?" Matt asked conversationally, trying to break the awkward silence that had fallen over them the moment Agumon and Tai left.

"Yup," Kari chirped from where she sat with Gabumon. She'd been teaching him a hand-clapping game to pass the time. "Gatomon's my partner and Wizardmon's her friend, but he got taken away by the bad Digimon."

"And you're the one that took down that train Digimon," Matt looked at Kagome who stroked Kudamon's furs as he lay curled up on her lap. "I have to say, when I saw that on TV, I couldn't believe my eyes."

"It was more Kudamon than me," Kagome said, "so there's really not much to believe."

"I actually thought you were the Eighth Child," Matt commented.

"The Ninth actually," Kagome said dryly.

"Hey," Kari spoke up, "Do you think Mama's okay? She got taken away by those mean Digimon."

Kagome wilted slightly. _'Oh Kari…'_

"Yeah, sure," Matt answered evasively, not knowing how to answer.

"But they didn't get Daddy!" Kari said in realization. "Mama said that Daddy was on the subway, so he must be okay, don't you think? And Mama's gonna be okay, too, since Tai's gonna rescue her, right?"

"Maybe," Matt said awkwardly. "But you have to remember, Tai's just one kid and there are hundreds of Digimon out there."

That statement, all though it may have been the truth, probably wasn't worded well for a seven-year-old child and because of that, Kari began to cry.

Matt looked surprised and tried to calm her down, but to no avail.

"You couldn't be a little gentler?" Kagome asked as she sat down and brought Kari into her lap, rocking her back and forth, cooing gently.

"Have a little compassion," Gabumon scolded his partner. "She's just worried about her family; and just like her, I'm sure you're just as worried about yours!" the Digimon walked over to where the sisters were and began to rub Kari's back soothingly.

* * *

-Elsewhere in Odaiba-

Across Odaiba, nine children with their Digimon paired off into three groups of two and one groups of three searched the streets of Odaiba for their targets.

One pair spotted a large firebird and followed it, recognizing the girls hanging from its leg as one of their targets. They never noticed Phantomon following behind, appearing every once in a while.

Another pair spotted a small boy with an insect Digimon running into the TV station. Without a word said between them, both ran off after the auburn-haired boy.

Another pair had spotted another lone boy with a small orange dinosaur Digimon at his side, sneaking about to the Convention Centre. Nary a sound escaped them as the two children and their Digimon followed the boy, waiting for the right time to strike.

The last group, the group of three, broke off from each other and began to prowl the streets where the DigiDestined's homes were located.

* * *

-Aqua City Warehouse-

Kudamon's eyes narrowed. He crawled back up onto Kagome and rewrapped himself around her neck, making him seem like an ordinary scarf again. "An evil Digimon is closing in on us," he whispered into Kagome ear before burying his face back into her hair and going limp.

"Hey is anybody there?" Sora called as Birdamon touched down to the ground, letting Lillymon rest on the ground as best as she could in her state.

"Kari, I need you to stay inside, and out of sight, all right?" Kagome asked.

"I know you," Kari said. "What are you going to do?"

"That's for me to know," Kagome told her, "Now go on and remember what I said. Stay out of sight."

"But—" Kari persisted.

"Stay," Kagome ordered before following Matt out of the warehouse.

"Hey, Sora!" Matt's eyes lit up as he realized one of the other friends were safe. Kagome followed behind him at a more sedate pace.

"Thank goodness you're safe," Sora breathed out with a sigh of relief. "It's terrible, Myotismon's rounded up the whole district! He's holding everybody at the Convention Centre!"

"Great," Matt clenched his fist. "What are we going to do now?"

"I have a suggestion," a voice drawled from above them.

The preteens all looked up to find Phantomon standing above them on a bridge connecting to the TV Station.

"I've never understood why the Master was wasting his time searching for the Eighth Child when it would have been so much easier to destroy them all," the ghost Digimon said conversationally.

The reaper-like Digimon was about to say more, but was cut off by a soft voice growing louder. "What?" he turned around, causing others to to look in the same direction to see who was speaking.

"Destroy the DigiDestined," came a boy's voice.

"Destroy the DigiDestined," a girl's voice joined in this time.

"Destroy the DigiDestined," they said in unison as the two who were speaking stepped out of the shadows.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

The boy had pale-blonde hair in a messy boycut with blank grey eyes and a fair complexion. He wore a red t-shirt with a pair of khaki shorts and black sneakers. He looked about twelve, close to thirteen.

Around his neck hung the Crest of Betrayal; a silver tag with a black crest inside and a small sword etched in navy on the crest.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

The girl had copper-red hair done in a thick braid down to mid-back, blank gold eyes and a lightly tanned complexion. She wore a pair of black capris with a pink empire-waist top, and red sandals. She looked about eleven.

Around her neck hung the Crest of Aggression; it looked exactly like the boy's crest, but the etching done in dark-orange was of a circle with two triangles, like fangs, within the circle.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Well this was unexpected," Phantomon commented, sitting down on the ledge, his stance relaxing to watch the events down below.

"Matt!" Sora gasped. "Look at those crests! Aren't those the ones Gennai told us to find?"

"Oh man," Matt grunted. "We were supposed to find them _before_ they were given to kids! But now that that's been ruined, who knows if we're too late for the others?"

All the while, neither child had stopped chanting what could become dubbed as their 'mantra'.

"Destroy the DigiDestined. Destroy the DigiDestined," The children pointed at Matt and Sora as two shadows materialized before them.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

The Digimon that appeared before the boy resembled a small child. It had blue skin, a magenta spike on each elbow, magenta claws, and a small pair of dark-blue bat wings on his back that lay folded and curled up around his body where they were hooked onto a jeweled trinket in the front. On the palms of his hands were two eyes; the one on its right hand was red, while the one on its left was green. A wide mischievous smile adorned his face.

It wore a pair of black plants with the bottoms rolled up over dark-violet boots that had magenta claws sticking out of them; a black bracelet adorned each wrist with its upper right arm banded with black cloth. A black hood covered all of his face but his mouth with a red left eye and a green right eye stamped on where one would assume its real eyes were; it connected to a ring of dark-grey fur around its neck. And poking out of the back of its pants was a long devil's tail.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

The second Digimon looked like a large honeybee with green eyes. Overall, this Digimon looked quite harmless, but as everyone had found out sooner or later, you can't judge a book by its cover.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Who are they?" Sora asked.

**"Dracmon,"** Gabumon said, pointing to the small blue-child Digimon. **"A Rookie Level Undead Type Digimon. He lives for pranking others, but beware his Eye of Nightmare attack or you'll never be the same again."**

"And that is **Beemon**," the horned digimon continued, **"A Rookie Level Insectoid Type Digimon. Usually this is a calm and cheerful digimon, bu right now, it'd be best to avoid his Gear Stinger attack."**

"Destroy the DigiDestined," the boy and girl said as their black digivices glowed with a dark aura, their crests joining in soon after.

Hardly any time at all seemed to pass as the two rookie Digimon progressed to Champion and then Ultimate level in a span of seconds.

"Dracmon Digivolve to: Sangloupmon!" the little blue child had become a large violet wolf with red accents, blades for claws and paws, and bat wings around its neck and head.

"Beemon Digivolve to: Waspmon!" The little adorable bee had suddenly become a large bronze and black striped insect with a tin accordion-like torso, large shoulders, red eyes, and a ball-like bottom with a blaster at its end.

(AN: Beemon was actually called FanBeemon, but I decided that that was a touch too long and a little ridiculous sound, so I changed it.)

However, no sooner did the two Digimon reach their Champion level did they digivolve once more.

"Sangloupmon Digivolve to: Matadormon!" The large wolf had now attained a humanoid form with large baggy red pants with a green cloth tied around the waist, a cropped black vest with flowing magenta sleeves, paper-white skin, and long thin arms tipped with blades for claws and shoes. Orange spiky hair topped his head and bat wings surrounded its head and torso.

"Waspmon Digivolve to: CannonBeemon!" The large bronze and black-striped Digimon became gold and black striped. A large container comprised of a honeycomb pattern with thrusters on the back of it rested above its head with a long laser blaster being its bottom.

"This doesn't look like it's gonna be easy," Sora said, nearing hysteria.

"Go Gabumon!" Matt shouted.

"Gabumon Digivolve to: Garurumon!" The large blue and white-striped wolf Digimon sprung into action, going for the humanoid Digimon. "Blue Blaster!"

The ray of aqua hit Matadormon, but it did little to no damage. Instead, Matadormon launched an attack of his own in retaliation. "Thousand Arrow!"

The humanoid Digimon waved his arms, releasing hundreds of glowing blades including his claws at Garurumon, who'd managed to dodge most of them, but was knocked back into another direction by the others.

"Birdamon, you've got to digivolve!" Sora cried out when CannonBeemon's Nitro Stinger drove the firebird into the ground.

Sora's crest and digivice glowed red as Birdamon changed form. "Birdamon Digivolve to: Garudamon!"

While the four Digimon fought, Matt had grabbed Phantomon's ball and chain, tugging at it hard to make the ghost Digimon come closer to him.

"Shadow Scythe!" he brought down his scythe, only to miss Matt when Sora hit him over the head with a stick she'd found nearby.

_'I wish I could do something,'_ Kagome thought worriedly. _'But if I reveal Kudamon and myself now, then they'll go after Kari.'_

The fighting continued on both side, with the Digimon and between Matt, Sora and Phantomon while the two corrupted children were still chanting the same phrase over and over again during the entire event.

It was when Sora was knocked back by Phantomon, who was getting ready to bring his scythe down onto Sora and Lillymon while Matt was being choked by Phantomon's chain that Kagome spoke up. "Would you stop it already? I'm the eighth child so take me already! You were looking for me, weren't you? So here I am, just stop hurting my friends!"

"A little brash, but very helpful," Phantomon drawled. He waved his scythe and a dark wave washed over the two corrupted Digimon, causing them to de-digivolve back to their rookie forms. "Go on back to the Master now."

He waited until the children and their Digimon left before turning to Kagome. He waved his scythe once and Kagome was encased in a clear-violet bubble.

"Matt, don't let her go!" Sora cried out.

"Kagome no!" Matt shouted. "You don't know what you're doing!"

Kagome turned around and gave Matt and Sora a small smile. "I know what I'm doing. Don't worry, just keep her safe."

"KAGOME!" Matt shouted.

"Oh no, what are we going to do now?" Sora asked worriedly, the two of them, their Digimon, and Lillymon watching as the bubble containing Kagome and Phantomon flew off.

"I don't know," Matt shook his head. "But I _definitely_ know that Tai's going to hit the roof when finds out about this…"

* * *

-Convention Centre-

"Is this her?" Myotismon asked, bringing another girl to Gatomon to identify.

"No," Gatomon shook her head.

It was then that DemiDevimon came into the room. "Hey, boos, guess what? We found her! We found the eighth child!"

Gatomon's eyes grew alarmed before her form visibly wilted. _'Not Kari…'_

_'How did they find her?'_ Mimi thought worriedly, watching the proceedings while keeping herself hidden in a cluster of kids so she wouldn't be recognized. _'How could they have found her when not even we could?'_

* * *

-Fuji TV Station; Communications Tower-

(AN: I think I might have spelled the TV Station's name wrong, but I've already used this name more than once so it'll just have to do, so please don't mind!)

_If they're going to use to the crest to see if I was telling the truth,' _Kagome thought, _'then this has to work. I have Kari's digivice so if they used to crest to detect it, it should be fine… And Gatomon should recognize me, so she'll be smart enough to keep quiet when she sees me…'_

It wasn't long before Myotismon phased through the ceiling with Gatomon in his hands.

The feline Digimon's eyes widened when she saw Kagome there instead of Kari like she'd thought. _'What's Kagome doing here? Where's Kari? I thought—'_

"So you are the Eighth DigiDestined?" Myotismon asked. "You certainly don't look like much."

_'Why that no good…'_ Kagome's eye twitched.

"Well, is this her?" Myotismon held Gatomon up to Kagome's face, allowing both a moment of eye contact.

_"Tell him,"_ Kagome's eyes told the feline Digimon.

Gatomon looked frightened for the girl, but calmed when she caught the mischievous glint in Kagome's eyes. "Yes," she answered, trying to sound morose.

"Well, then," Myotismon looked at Kagome, "I suppose you know what will be happening now?"

"Of course," Kagome smirked. "You're going to find yourself sucker punched!"

Myotismon faltered. "What?" he questioned, unfamiliar with the terminology.

(AN: For those of you who don't know what a sucker punch is, actually come to think of it I just found out the meaning a few days ago after reading it in a book, it's just an unexpected hit or blow.)

But Kagome gave no answer, she spun around and grabbed Phantomon's scythe before running from the reaper Digimon when DemiDevimon dive-bombed her. She dodged the small Digimon another time before hitting him with the flat side of the scythe the third time he was headed in her direction.

Now we all must remember, when Kagome hit the Digimon, she had no real target other than the general one being Myotismon. So when the unconscious Digimon that resembled a bowling ball with wings hit the undead Digimon in his private area, it was a complete (but welcome) coincidence.

Myotismon froze as his eyes watered slightly as his voice pitched a whimper in soprano; his grip on Gatomon slackened as he slumped to the floor with Phantomon hurrying to his master's side, fussing over him.

(AN: In all honesty, I didn't plan that little bit out, my brother gave me a suggestion and I just turned it into [fictional] reality with a few more details.)

"Hold it r—" Matt stopped short with his friends, Lillymon, Kabuterimon, Wizardmon and Patamon behind him. "What just happened?"

They all looked confusedly at the whimpering and wincing Myotismon on the floor with an unconscious DemiDevimon and a fussing Phantomon. They, then, turned to Kagome who stood off to the side with Gatomon in her arms, both giggling at the scene before them, but unharmed nevertheless.

"Does someone want to explain what just happened here?" Joe blinked.

"Myotismon doesn't look too good," T.K commented.

"And I think I might understand why," Izzy narrowed his eyes at the wincing Myotismon before wincing himself. _'As much as he deserved it, I can't help but feel a little sorry for him…'_

"Kari, did your sister really just—" Matt cut himself off as he shook his head in disbelief.

"I think so," the young girl said weakly. "But she usually wouldn't do something like that on purpose…" she looked at Kagome questioningly.

Kagome looked at Tai's friends and her little sister when she realized they were staring at her. "Wha—of course I wouldn't do something like that on purpose!" the girl flushed. "I aimed DemiDevimon at Myotismon, but I didn't think he'd be hit there!"

"You'll pay for that, insolent child!" Myotismon growled as he got up shakily. "But why don't we get some fresh air? This is becoming a little too crowded for my tastes! Crimson Lightning!" He aimed the red whips at the roof of the communications tower, blasting a gaping hole through it.

He waved his arms as he levitated out through the hole, Kagome and Gatomon coming along with him, unable to fight his power. Phantomon and a now conscious, but dazed, DemiDevimon flew out after their master.

_'Oh no you don't,'_ Matt thought, running to the window that had shattered when the ceiling had been blown through. "WereGarurumon!" _'I wasn't able to keep her safe last time, but that's definitely not happening again!'_

"Did you really a cheap trick like that could stop me?" Myotismon bellowed at Kagome who stood there, tuning out every word the Digimon before her spoke.

"Are you done?" Kagome asked, bored. "Good because now I can tell you that you've been duped."

_'Duped?'_ Mytoismon sneered at the girl before him. "And how exactly would that be possible? I have you, the Eighth DigiDestined before me and at my mercy. And once I'm finished with you, it won't be hard to weed out the last."

"Really? Because you don't seem to realize that you've got the wrong girl," Kagome smirked.

It was then that WereGarurumon, at Matt's call, had leapt before Myotismon, the other DigiDestined's Digimon.

"Horn Buster!" MegaKabuterimon's horned crackled with electricity as he charged at the undead Digimon, but said Digimon waved his hand as though batting away a fly.

As though controlled by an outside force, MegaKabuterimon found himself being turned towards WereGarurumon, knocking the wolf-like Digimon off the top of the building, leaving him to hang on its ledge.

"Crimson Lightning!" The glowing red whip hit WereGarurumon, causing him to release his grip on the building as he plummeted to the ground.

"That must have hurt," the undead Digimon cooed mockingly. "I wonder what I'll do next?" He looked like he was going to say more, but instead found himself knocked forward with a gasp of pain.

Everyone turned to see Wizardmon standing a few feet away from Myotismon, his hands stretched out before him.

"Wizardmon!" Gatomon cried out happily from Kagome's arms.

"So you're still alive are you?" Myotismon growled.

"It'll take more than the likes of you to destroy me!" Wizardmon said defiantly.

"Take this, Gatomon," Kagome whispered to the feline Digimon, pressing something into her paw, "and go to Kari!" She let go off the Digimon and gave her a push forward. "Go while he's distracted!"

Gatomon nodded as she sprinted forward on all fours. Unfortunately for her, her actions hadn't gone unnoticed. While Myotismon was busy volleying attacks at Wizardmon, who was dodging and rebounding attacks back at the undead Digimon, Phantomon and DemiDevimon had seen Gatomon running off.

"Hey! She's getting' away, Boss!" DemiDevimon shouted as he flew as fast as he could behind the feline Digimon.

"What?" the undead Digimon turned, but not before sending Wizardmon hurling into the wall before he slumped onto the ground, unmoving.

"I told you," Kagome said from behind. "You've been duped."

"Take this, Gatomon," Wizardmon groaned out, holding out his fist, the Crest of Light hanging from it. "This it and give it to Kari."

Gatomon nodded, taking the crest and left for Kari, though not before sending her friend one last glance.

Myotismon only watched with angry eyes before turning to Phantomon and DemiDevimon. "You brought me the wrong child, you insolent buffoons!"

"Not exactly," Kagome drawled. "You wanted to the find both of the last DigiDestined. You found one, but not the one thought."

Myotismon turned a glare at the raven-haired girl. "You—"

"Well, let's get started now, shall we?" Kagome gave a mocking smile. "My name's Kagome Kamiya, the Ninth DigiDestined." She held her arm out and everyone watched as the 'scarf' she wore slithered down the appendage before standing up to show a face and legs. "Kudamon, you know what to do."

The fox-like Digimon leapt off his partner's arm into the air as the familiar white glow of digivolution engulfed him.

"Kudamon Digivolve to: Reppamon!" The Champion level only stood there for a moment before a pure white glow enveloped his figure. "Reppamon Digivolve to: Chirinmon!"

Kagome vaguely heard Sora's voice echoing from a few metres away. "She's the Ninth Child? You mean she's been right under our noses the entire time and we didn't know?"

Chirinmon stooped into a fighting stance, ready to attack, but a voice halted them all.

"Hold it!" came a very familiar voice.

Everyone turned to see Tai standing on the next building over with Greymon by his side. "You just picked on the wrong guy's little sisters!" He looked at Kari. "Do you have your digivice?"

Kari nodded and held it up for her brother to see, but the relief wasn't to last for long as the bowling ball with wings known as DemiDevimon swooped in and grabbed the device.

"No!" Everyone but the evil Digimon cried out.

"You can thank me after you take over the world, 'kay Boss?" DemiDevimon snickered.

"Good job," Myotismon told him. "Now, go, Phantomon! Destroy that irritating child!"

The reaper-like Digimon glided forward with his scythe in 'hand' before diving at tai with a ghostly wail.

It was then that Greymon decided to digivolve to protect his partner. "Greymon Digivolve to: MetalGreymon!"

"Time out," Phantomon said stopping when the orange glow receded to reveal a different Greymon in the previous one's place.

"Go get him!" Tai shouted, pointing at Myotismon.

"Giga Blaster!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Flower Cannon!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Heaven's Gale!"

The six attacks were headed straight for Myotismon, but with a mere wave of his hands, they all dissipated in particles, as though they were never there in the first place.

"How could he have—" Kagome shook her head in disbelief.

"Is that all you can do?" Myotismon chuckled darkly before turning in Kari's direction. "Then allow me to deal the final blow! Nightmare—" a bright light shone from behind him, causing the undead Digimon to seek cover behind his cloak. "Now what?"

They all looked up to see Angemon in the sky, his right fist alit with an orange flame. "Hand of Fate!"

The attack was a direct hit on Myotismon, sending him reeling back in pain, though Phantomon was destroyed in the process as well, but no one commented on that little detail.

"Have you had enough, Myotismon?" Angemon asked.

"I was just about to ask you the same question," the undead Digimon smirked. He wuickly spun around to face Kari once more, and before anyone knew it, he called out his attack. "Grisly Wing!"

"Kari!" Tai and Kagome cried out while everyone else gasped in shock.

Wizardmon got ready as though he were going to launch an attack to counteract Myotismon's bast, but no one expected the mage-like Digimon to jump before Kari and Gatomon, taking the full effect of Myotismon's attack.

"Wizardmon!" Gatomon and Kari called out in shock.

"Next time, don't get in the way," Myotismon growled at the now injured Digimon in tattered clothing.

"You monster!" Kagome shouted through tear-glazed eyes, watching Kari and Gatomon hurry over to the mage-like Digimon, trying in vain to help him stay alive. "Chirinmon!"

"Wave of Reformation!" the dargon-like Digimon called out, releasing a pulsing golden aura of peace and serenity that washed over everyone.

Myotismon shouted in pain as the aura tried purifying the evil within him. Once he'd managed to stop yelling, he held brought his arm up and brought it down just as quickly, a red whip hitting Chirinmon, knocking him to the ground. "Crimson Lightning!"

"No!" Kagome shouted as she ran over to her Digimon. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Chirinmon told his partner, sitting up to look at the girl with soft eyes.

"Kari!"

They turned at tai's voice, watching as he threw Kari's glowing Digivice to her, Wizardmon no longer there.

Everything seemed to happen all at once because the moment the digivice landed in Kari's hands, her crest glowed in tandem with the device as it turned pink.

The same pink glow engulfed Gatomon as her figure began changing to grow taller and slender. "Gatomon Digivolve to: Angewomon!"

"Oh my…" Kagome trailed off as she stared at the newly evolved Digimon in awe, just as the rest of the DigiDestined did.

"Myotismon," Angewomon spoke, "You've tried to destroy the DigiDestined, conquer their world, and have revived an acient power that was never yours. In doing so, you have ruined the lives of humans and Digimon alike. What can you say to justify your actions?"

"Why would I explain myself to the likes of you?" Myotismon sneered. "It is my destiny to plunge this world into darkness and become king of both worlds. And there is nothing a rat with wings like you can do to stop me!"

"Don't you have any regrets for what you have done?" Angemon asked.

Myotismon said nothing as he readied himself for another attack. "Nightmare—"

Angewomon raised her arms. "Heaven's Charge!" a gold ring formed from around her wrists and expanded as it traveled higher and higher into the air. Once situated, the ring released a rainbow aura that covered everyone for a brief moment.

"My power is…growing!" MegaKabuterimon exclaimed.

"I feel stronger!" Lillymon chirped.

It was then that WereGarurumon leapt back onto the roof.

Myotismon froze, the good feeling of the attack affecting him greatly.

"Everyone, give your power to Angewomon," Garudamon ordered.

"Horn Buster!"

"Flower Cannon!"

"Wolf Claw!"

"Giga Blaster!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Heaven's Gale!"

"Hand of Fate!"

The attacks were launched at the same time and headed to the same destination. Everyone watched as the attacks all met within the ring Angewomon had created, making the ring glow green and crackle with electricity as what looked like a large green orb situated itself within the ring, the green eventually covering the entire structure.

A bow had formed from the wings at Angewomon's left wrist as said Digimon raised an arm up to the glowing green structure above her and pulling a multicolored arrow from within it.

"Celestial Arrow!" The arrow was launched at Myotismon, piercing him through his body.

Myotismon shouted as a black current crackled around them all, his body eventually disappearing in a beam of black light that turned white.

"He's gone," Kari said in surprise. "Myotismon's gone!"

It was then that all the children began to cheer, but stopped when there was a loud groan coming from the structure they were on.

"We can continue this party later," Tai called. "Right now we all have to get out of here before the building comes down!"

And with that, Garudamon carried Zudomon down, MegaKabuterimon carried the DigiDestined, MetalGreymon carried Tai, Chirinmon carried Kagome, and the rest followed as they could.

It wasn't long after the children reached the ground and their Digimon de-digivolve did the Spherical Structure of the TV Station come crashing to the ground.

"Something's wrong," Kagome said quietly as she held Puttimon to her.

Kari and T.K nodded as they watched the sky with the older girl.

"What's the matter you guys?" Mimi asked.

"Look up at the sky?" T.K told them, pointing up. "The sky's not clearing up!"

"The fog's getting thicker!" Kari said.

"But that's impossible!" Tai said. At this point everyone was looking up at the still foggy sky that seemed to be getting thicker with each passing moment.

"Myotismon's gone, though," Kari stated. "Shouldn't the fog be gone by now?"

"Maybe he's not really gone," Joe said. "Maybe, we just might've made him stronger…"

_'It's either that,'_ Kagome thought, _'or there's more to this than we've been told.'_

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	7. Book One: Not the End

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!**

AN: I don't know if there are going to be questions about where the children with the Crests of Discord are, but I'll answer anyway. The children were originally searching out the DigiDestined to destroy them, as per Myotismon's orders. However, once he was destroyed [once] that command became invalid and as such they are just wandering children with connections to Myotismon. And also, there won't be much about them in the Adventure 1 portion, as I only used it mostly to introduce them, though it didn't happen as completely as I'd have liked, so between the point where I start Adventure 2, I'll most likely include a small interlude with a description of each of the unmentioned children with the Crests of Discord.

Okay, um, I know that this chapter is going sound more than just a little rushed, but honestly, I'm feeling really sluggish. I haven't had my daily dose of sugar and it's really starting to tick me off since I can't find anything sugary in my house…

Ah, and I have posted the first four chapters of my Digimon Frontier fic, A Different Frontier, so if you want to check it out, you're more than welcome to! Yeah, I know it's not a very original title, but hey, I'm low on sugar, so don't judge me!

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-Not the End-Xx**

-Fuji TV Station-

"This bites!" Tai kicked Myotismon's fallen mask into the rubble around them.

"That lousy fog barrier's still up," Matt said in frustration.

"So beating Myotismon didn't solve anything?" Mimi said worriedly.

It was then that Izzy noticed his computer beeping. "Hey, we've got mail from Gennai!" the auburn-haired boy called out to everyone when he'd powered on the laptop.

_"Greetings my friends!"_ a small chibi figure that should have been Gennai danced around the screen, pointing to an attachment. _"I have some great news! I think I've finally found a way to destroy Myotismon for good!"_

Izzy clicked on the attachment and the background changed to what looked like a wall with strange markings on it, like an ancient language.

_"Now although this may look like a graham cracker, this is actually an ancient prophecy Centarumon and I uncovered!"_ The chibi figure danced around the screen around for a bit before going to a certain place on the screen and running across it as line after line was translated into Japanese.

_"The wings of bats will darken the sky  
The fallen will invoke the name of the undead king  
And the lives of nine are sapped  
The hour of the beast is the time  
The undead king, as the beast will arise_

_Arrows of hope and light will be shot  
By the angels of the loved ones to protect  
A miracle bestowed  
The beast succumbs to that which is his fate._

_Please always recycle."_

_"Well, I have no clue about that last part, but it's a good idea," _Gennai told them, once again dancing _over the screen. "Good luck!"_

And with that said, the message ended and Gennai's chibi figure disappeared from the screen.

"Well that was about as clear as mud," Sora commented. "Think you can make heads or tails of it, Izzy?"

"Uh…"Izzy's eye twitched as went over the prophecy in his mind again.

"Tai, Kagome," Kari said quietly. "Maybe we should try and find Mama and Daddy."

"She's right," Kagome nodded. "It's definitely safe enough at the moment."

Tai nodded.

"I wouldn't mind stopping by my place for a bit," Joe commented.

"And I'd like a chance to change out my pajamas," Mimi said. "Or at least get a matching robe."

"Then let's go," Tai nodded. "There's no reason for us to stay here."

* * *

-Akeera Residences; A Few Moments Later-

"Sorry I'm late!" Mimi smiled as she arrived with Palmon by her side, this time dressed as she usually was. "Hey aren't we missing somebody?"

"Joe's still upstairs," Kagome looked up to where the blue-haired boy's apartment would be.

"Can someone explain just what is going on?" Izzy's father asked.

"I can do my best," Matt's father stepped forward and began doing just that.

It wasn't until a little while later that Joe, Bukamon, and Jim came out of the complex did Matt's father start issuing orders.

"You go find out what's happening at the convention centre," he said to Joe, Jim, Izzy, Sora, Mimi, Kagome, Tai, Kari, and Izzy's parents.

"While we try to find some way to break through the fog barrier," Matt's father smiled down at his youngest son. "Right T.K?"

"Right!" the little boy chirped with a grin.

* * *

-Convention Centre-

"Look there they are!" Agumon shouted as the Digimon all ran forward towards the swarm of Bakemon that floated around, standing guard.

"Tanemon Digivolve to: Palmon!"

"Yokomon Digivolve to: Biyomon!"

"Puttimon Digivolve to: Kudamon!"

"Bukamon Digivolve to: Gomamon!"

One by one they'd digivolved, and the rookie Digimon all charged the Bakemon. Each Digimon let loose their attacks and eventually all of the Bakemon before them were nothing but particles in the wind.

"Great job, you guys!" Tai told them as he ran down the frozen escalator, his friends right behind them.

When they reached their parents and the rest of the captured adults and children, the DigiDestined they thought they'd be tired and frightened. But no one expected the sight that met their eyes.

Each and every adults lay in rows and rows, still and straight as a log, their eyes closed.

"Mom?" Sora asked, kneeling next to the dark-haired woman.

"Mama? Daddy?" Kari said quietly, kneeling next to her parents with her siblings.

"What's happened to them?" Kagome shook her head. "Do you think Myotismon did something to them before he was destroyed?"

"Dad?" Mimi tried shaking her father awake, but to no avail. "They're not waking up. What's happening?"

"They're still alive," Jim announced. "They all are. But they seem to be in some kind of trance or something."

Kari looked around at all of the people. "Is this all our fault, Gatomon?" Kari asked quietly.

The feline Digimon's ears dropped as she didn't know how to answer the question.

"It isn't," Sora told the young girl. "We just have to find a way to break this spell and they'll all wake up."

"Besides," Kagome added. "If you think it's your fault, then I'm sharing the blame, too. He was looking for the both of us, remember? You didn't know, so they couldn't find you, and I knew, but I kept myself hidden. So if you blame yourself, then we're both to blame."

Kari said nothing as she burrowed herself into Kagome's arm, pulling Gatomon into the embrace with her.

* * *

All across Odaiba, bats flew around in small packs, feeding on the fallen Digimon and those that were left behind when Myotismon had been destroyed.

The nine children with the Crests of Discord wandered about the city aimlessly with no true purpose. Their orders to destroy the DigiDestined had now become invalid because Myotismon was gone and so they wandered because they didn't know what else they could do, their minds blank and their souls still entwined in the web of the power belonging to the crests they wore.

* * *

-Convention Centre-

"So what's the deal here?" Matt asked as he, T.K, and his father came to where the unconscious people were being held.

"Physically they seem to be asleep," Jim reported. "But no matter how hard you try, they won't wake. It's like they're in some kind of coma."

"Well, at least we know one thing," Patamon spoke up. "The first part of the prophecy came true."

"What?" the others gasped. "When was that?" Tai asked.

"We saw Myotismon's bats were going around feeding on the remains of fallen and live Digimon," Gabumon explained.

"Okay so that part's covered," Izzy nodded. "But what about the rest? No one's calling out Myotismon's name and just what is the 'Hour of the Beast'?"

(AN: I'm going to change the concept of the Hour of Beast here a touch.)

"666," Matt's father told them grimly. "Six minutes past the sixth hour on the sixth day of a month."

"Sounds like triple six is our unlucky number," Tai commented.

"But today's the fifth," Mimi pointed out. "So what are we supposed to do before then?"

"We rest," Kagome spoke up.

Everyone but Tai and Kari protested at the idea, her siblings looking at her knowingly.

"Look," Kagome explained. "I know that you don't want to leave anyone here, I don't either, my parents are here, too, remember? But think about it, we've all been up and running since early this morning and maybe even before that because of Myotismon's henchmen. If anything, I think we all should get a good night's rest before tomorrow."

Everyone quieted when they heard the raven-haired girl's reasoning and grudgingly admitted that she was right.

"But where are we going to go, then?" T.K asked.

"There's no way we can all go home and them come back here just as quick," Mimi added.

Everyone looked at each other before turning to Izzy. The auburn-haired boy was lost in his thoughts, needless to say that when he came out of them, he was surprised to many an eye on him.

"Well," he started slowly, "From my calculations, the closest place from here would be the apartment complex Joe and I live in. The only logical thing to do at this point would be to go there and get some rest; girls in one of our homes and the guys in the other."

And so it was decided that

"Then the rest of you can stay in our house," Jim told them. "I have a walkie-talkie with me and I handed the other one off to Joe, so if there's been any changes here, I'll be able to tell you."

With the arrangements settled, the group of children, Digimon, and the few adults with them headed back to Akeera Residences.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

-That Night; Izumi Home-

"Hey, Kagome?" Sora asked as the girls all crawled into the makeshift bed Izzy's mother had made up for them in the sitting room after shifting a lot of furniture off to the side.

"Yeah?" Kagome said from where she was tucking a drowsy Kari in.

"Why did you tell Myotismon that you were the Eighth Child?" the orange-haired girl asked, lying down by Biyomon, who was curled up, asleep.

"If I didn't," Kagome said softly, stroking Kari's hair until the young girl was fast asleep, her arms hugging Gatomon to her, "Then they would have gotten to Kari. And I couldn't let that happen; she's my little sister and I'm supposed to protect her."

"You really care about your family, don't you?" Mimi asked gently.

Kagome nodded. "I'd give my life if it meant saving the ones I care about." She looked at Mimi and Sora. "That includes you all, too. I may not have known you for very long, but I know enough to tell you that I'd do anything to protect my friends."

"I guess we know why you have the Crest of Compassion," Palmon whispered with a yawn.

"Indeed," Kudamon said with pride, curling up above Kagome's pillow.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

-Kido Residence-

"Hey, Tai?" Matt whispered hesitantly, once T.K and everyone else was asleep.

"Yeah?" the brown-haired boy looked to the blonde in curiosity.

"I'm really sorry about what happened today," Matt apologized. "About letting Kagome getting taken by Myotismon. I really did try stopping her, but—"

"You don't need to apologize," Tai broke in. "Kagome's always been like that; she'd do anything to save anyone she cares about. She gave herself up in Kari's place, right?"

Matt nodded.

Tai nodded, this time to himself. "I figured that'd be it. She'd never let Kari go straight into any trouble and she's doing her best to keep Kari out of it. But what happened with Kagome and Myotismon? No one's telling me anything and I have a feeling that something big happened while I was gone."

"I think Kagome got mad and she kind of…" matt trailed off before leaning over to whisper the rest into his friend's ear.

Tai covered his mouth as he guffawed. "That's Kagome for ya. She probably didn't mean to do it, but then again, anytime she's provoked protectively, you'd better watch out!"

"But still man, I'm really—" Matt tried.

"Seriously, stop it," Tai said sternly. "It wasn't your fault. Okay, so it was kinda your fault, but I'm not blaming you for anything, so stop blaming yourself. You couldn't have stopped Kagome if you tried, so don't beat yourself up about it, okay? Now, we'd better get some sleep before tomorrow rolls around."

* * *

-Across Odabia-

**_"Come,"_** came a malevolently familiar voice. **_"Come to me…"_**

The children who owned the Crests of Discord lifted their heads at the order and stopped in their tracks. All over the city, each of them slowly turned in the direction of the near-demolished TV Station.

**_"Come to me, my children,"_** the voice beckoned. **_"Come to your Master…"_**

That said, the children and their Digimon slowly began walking in the direction they'd glanced in, their master's orders giving them purpose in their blank minds.

* * *

-Convention Centre; Early the Next Morning-

"Myotismon; Lord and Master," one of the adults said in a monotone voice, sitting up as though in a trance.

"Wha—?" Jim snorted awake,, rubbing his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Myotismon; Lord and Master," another few adults sat up, joining the chorus.

"What the—?" Jim cut himself off as he rushed over to the awakened adults. "Hey!" He tried shaking the adults out of their trance, but to no avail. They continued to stare straight ahead, unseeingly, as they continued to chant the same phrase over and over again.

Fumbling through his pockets, Jim brought out the walkie-talkie he'd brought with him and switched it on. "Joe? You and your friends might want to check this out; everyone's waking up, but they're still in some kind of trance. Here, Listen to this." He held the device close to the nearest adult, letting the chant filter into the device.

* * *

-Kido Residence-

Joe shot up from the makeshift bed he and his friends had made when he heard the familiar crackle of the walkie-tallkie go off. He walked over to it and pressed a button, listening to the message his brother had relayed.

With each word that he heard, Joe's eyes grew larger and larger until they were large enough to the point where he looked as though he were visibly panicking. "Guys! Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!"

Everyone woke up with a start, groaning about the early hour, but stopped when they saw the frantic look on their older friend's face.

"What's going on?" Izzy asked.

"Listen to this," Joe said seriously, pressing a button on the walkie-talkie. _"Myotismon; Lord and Master."_ Filtered through the small speaker over and over, more and more voices being added with every passing moment.

"What the—" Tai said alarmed.

"Jim's sending this straight from the Convention Centre," Joe told them. "Another part of the prophecy's come true. Remember? _'The fallen will invoke the name of the undead king'_."

"The hour of the beast," Matt muttered. "What time is it?"

"5.45 in the morning," T.K muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"We only have a little over fifteen minutes until the Hour of the Beast," Tai gritted his teeth. "Come on, we've got to get the girls and head over to the TV Station!"

"But why the TV Station?" Matt's father asked. "IF the people are all at the Convention Centre, wouldn't it make more sense to go there?"

"It would," Izzy nodded. "But we defeated Myotismon at the TV Station. And what better place to come back than the place he was defeated?"

"Okay, get the girls and climb into the van," Matt's father ordered. "I'll do my best to get you there on time."

"Right!" The DigiDestined and their Digimon gave a nod, all fully awake by now.

* * *

-Fuji TV Station-

"We're not going to make it!" Kagome said worriedly, looking at the time on her digivice; the small numbers on the screen worried her. 6.04AM.

The DigiDestined all watched in horrific awe as Myotismon's bats swarmed from all over the city to the TV Station.

Unfortunately, by the time they'd finally reached their destination, the clock had already struck 6.06AM.

"We're too late!" Tai exclaimed.

"That can't be Myotismon," Joe said in disbelief. "Myotismon doesn't look like that!"

"If that is him," Matt commented. "Then he's definitely been on steroids…"

"I think that's his true form, you guys," Sora said suddenly. "Remember the prophecy? This must be his true form as the beast! _'The undead king, as the beast will arise.'_"

(AN: I won't be describing this new version of Myotismon since you readers must have already watched the episode or checked out the DigiWiki pages.)

"Let's go!" Agumon turned to Gabumon before both Digimon ran forward, Digivolving along the way.

"Agumon Digivolve to: Greymon!"

"Gabumon Digivolve to: Garurumon!"

The new version of Myotismon turned around and gave a great roar, the sheer power of it, nearly knocking the two champion-level Digimon off their feet.

"Say hello, you pests, to the new and improved VenomMyotismon," DemiDevimon snickered.

"VenomMyotismon?" Tai asked.

"Yup!" DemiDevimon smirked. "He's the King of the Undead, where he's the 'un' and you're the 'dead'!"

"More energy!" VenomMyotismon ordered. "I need more energy!"

"No problem, Boss!" DemiDevimon assured the giant Digimon. "There's all those people waitin' for ya. But for now, here's a couple appetizers!" He turned around and gave a sharp whistle.

From behind one of the buildings nearby, the nine children with the Crests of Discord came forward, their Digimon right behind them.

"Look!" Sora cried out. "It's those kids again! They must all have the Crests of Discord!"

"Oh no!" T.K exclaimed, "What're we gonna do? We were supposed to stop 'em from getting those!"

"There's nothing we can do," Kagome told the boy gently. "Not anymore. Those crests have already bonded with those kids. Do you know how to destroy them? Because right now, I think that's the only way to stop them from being all zombie-like right now."

"We need to destroy the crests and defeat their Digimon," Izzy remembered. "Gennai said that that was the only way to stop them."

"Except I don't think we can do that," Kagome said, frightened. "Look!"

And look they did. When they turned to VenonMyotismon, they found a disturbing sight meeting their eyes. Each child's eyes and their crests glowed as a wispy substance the same hue as their crest was drawn out of their mouth by VenonMyotismon, who was coaxing the substance and the crests into his palm. The nine Digimon belonging to the De-DigiDestined were dissolved into particles of data that were absorbed into the wispy collection in the giant Digimon's palm.

The DigiDestined and Matt's father looked on in disgust and horror when they saw VenomMyotismon swallow the wispy collection and crests, leaving the children to collapse onto the ground, their skin sickly pale, and their bodies growing cold.

"What did he just do?" Kari asked worriedly.

"He's taken their souls," Matt's father clenched his fist. "He's taken their souls and now he's going to go after the people at the Convention Centre."

"I hope you enjoyed those appetizers, Boss!" DemiDevimon exclaimed. "'Cause there's a full course meal waiting with your name on it!"

"Thanks, but I think I'll have a little snack first!" VenonMyotismon smirked, taking in a deep breath, sucking the small bowling ball with wings into his mouth and swallowing once inside.

"You guys can't take him on like this!" Tai shouted to Greymon and Garurumon.

"Digivolve!" Matt shouted.

"Greymon Digivolve to: MetalGreymon!"

"Garurumon Digivolve to: WereGarurumon!"

"Shall we flip a coin to see who goes first?" WereGarurumon asked.

"No need," MetalGreymon told him. "Allow me; Giga Blaster!"

WereGarurumon jumped atop on the torpedoes and launched his attack the moment they collided with VenonMyotismon's body. "Wolf Claw!"

"He's not even fazed!" Tai said in disbelief.

They all watched as WereGarurumon climbed up the giant Digimon and launched an attack at his face. "Garuru-Kick!"

Unfortunately, while the attack did some damage int eh form of a cut in the Digimon's forehead, no one expected the pink tentacle-like objects to spring out of the cut and grab the wolf-like Digimon.

"Mega-Claw!" MetalGreymon launched his retractable claw at the cluster of tentacles, cutting WereGarurumon loose.

"Just what are we going to do?" Mimi asked. "Anything we do just bounces off him!"

It was then that the two Ultimate-level Digimon came crashing down, de-digivolving back to their rookie forms.

"What just happened?" Matt asked Izzy.

"He must have found some way of draining their energy," the auburn-haired boy told them.

"Look!" Izzy's father pointed at something.

Right now, VenomMyotismon was launching multi-colored bolts out of his abdomen and they all watched in surprise as a building that was hit wasn't just demolished, but digitized into particles of data.

"I probably should've brought the camcorder…" Matt's father said in awe.

"Come on, Patamon," Gatomon told the small winged Digimon suddenly. "Let's fly."

"Wait, we're coming with you," Gomamon interjected, getting ready to digivolve, as did the rest of the Digimon.

Gatomon shook her head. "I only need Patamon for this; seriously, it's nothing personal, but if my plan doesn't work, then you'll be needed and I just want you guys to save your strength."

"Then we're behind you one hundred-percent," Palmon nodded with the rest of the digimon.

"We're putting all our trust in you," Kagome told the feline Digimon. "Both of you."

"Gatomon Digivolve to: Angewomon!"

"Patamon Digivolve to: Angemon!"

"Brace yourselves!" Matt's father shouted as VenomMyotismon's foot hovered over the group and their Digimon, all huddled together.

"Goodbye, DigiDestined!" the giant Digimon laughed minaically.

It was when the giant Digimon was about to step on all of them did the two angel Digimon make their move.

"Hand of Fate!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

The two attacks managed to knock the Mega-level Digimon back a few paces, but not by much since he was still up and running.

"This doesn't look like it's going to be easy," Angemon warned.

"No one said it would be," Angewomon retorted.

"Well well," VenonMyotismon chuckled darkly. "I shall enjoy devouring the two of you! Angel food happens to be one of my favourites!"

"Why is that Digimon so much bigger than the rest?" Izzy father asked out of the blue.

"Search me," Izzy opened his laptop to the Digimon Analyzer. "Okay, so I thought he was fully digivolved, but it looks like Myotismon found a way to digivolve even further; some Mega-Ultimate level."

"That's not fair," Matt pointed out. "It's like changing the rules in the middle of a game."

"Go Angewomon!" Kari shouted.

"You can do it, Angemon!" T.K called up to his partner.

Kagome looked up at the two angel Digimon flying above, keeping the giant Digimon busy. _'Angels…That's it!'_

She turned back to auburn-haired boy. "Izzy, what did that prophecy say about angels?"

Izzy sat on the ground and typed away on his computer, bringing the prophecy back up and recited from it.

"_Arrows of hope and light will be shot  
By the angels of the loved ones to protect  
A miracle bestowed  
The beast succumbs to that which is his fate"_

"But what does it mean?" Mimi asked.

"The two angels must be Angemon and Angewomon," Kagome explained, "and the ones they've been sent to protect are Kari and T.K."

"But who are they supposed to shoot?" Sora asked.

"Allow me to explain," Tentomon spoke. "Say that I'm a guardian angel; who's guardian am I: Izzy's. Who does he love—"

"My parents obviously," Izzy interjected. "I was just getting to that, but Kari and T.K don't just have parents; they have older siblings."

"Brothers to be exact," Kagome added.

"But why would you want t shoot arrows at your loved ones?" Izzy questioned. "Sounds dangerous to me."

"Maybe it's because they're an angel's arrows," Izzy's mother told them. "Don't you remember Cupid? He shot arrows of love."

"That sound kind of corny, don't you think?" Izzy sweat-dropped.

"As ridiculous as it sounds," Kagome cut in, "your mother has the right idea."

"I agree!" Tentomon nodded. He turned to Tai and Matt. "All we need to do is have you two get shot by Angemon and Angewomon's arrows of love—"

_'Light and hope, actually,'_ Kagome corrected mentally.

"Let's not be hasty, the auburn-haired boy cut in. "Shouldn't we think about this first?"

"It's the only thing we have to go on, though," Mimi pointed out. "As dangerous as it is, it's the only thing that makes sense right now and nothing else seems to be working."

"Then let's see these arrows of Hope and Light," Tai announced.

"You've got to get them to shoot at us," Matt told the two young children. "They'll only do it if you tell them to."

"Are you sure?" Kari asked. "You really want them to shoot you?"

"What if you get like dead or something?" T.K asked worriedly.

"Won't happen," Matt told them. "Right?" he looked at Tai.

"Definitely," Tai nodded.

Kagome walked up behind the kids and placed a hand on their shoulders. She gave them a soft smile and a small nod when they looked up at her.

"Okay, listen up, Angemon," T.K said, holding up his crest as it began to glow.

"You, too, Angewomon," Kari added, her crest glowing as well.

Both crests shot beams of light to the child's respective Digimon. Kari's light forming a bow and arrow for Angewomon, while T.K's formed a gold arrow for Angemon.

"This is going to sound kinda crazy," T.K told them. "But we need you to shoot Matt and Tai with your arrows!"

"Sounds kind of dangerous to me," Angewomon commented.

"But it makes sense," Angemon pointed out as they both raised their arrows to position.

"Are you sure about this?" Gabumon asked.

"What if the prophecy's wrong?" Agumon added.

"You guys want s a miracle to happen or not?" Tai asked rhetorically.

"Miracles _do_ require a little faith," Matt reminded them.

"Scared, Tai?" Matt looked at his friend.

"Nope, you, Matt?" Tai glanced at the blonde.

"Piece of cake," the blond replied. "But maybe I'll just hold onto your hand, so don't chicken out or anything."

"Same to you," the brown-haired boy smirked as both of their crests began to glow their respective colour.

Despite the dire situation, Kagome found herself sweat-dropping. _'They're both trying to act all macho…can't they just admit that they don't feel okay with this?'_

"One miracle—" Angemon began.

"Coming up!" Angemon fninshed, with both launching their arrows at their intended target.

But when the arrows hit Tai and Matt, a bright light exploded around them all.

An orange glow overtook Agumon and a blue glow overtook Gabumon as their forms changed.

"Agumon Warp Digivolve to: WarGreymon!"

"Gabumon Warp Digivolve to: MetalGarurumon!"

(AN: I won't be describing them either since we all should remember them from the episodes.)

"Who're they?" Sora asked in awe.

**"WarGreymon, Mega Level,"** Izzy recited from his Digimon Analyzer. **"It says here his attack is Terra Force. He gathers energy from all around him and focuses it in the palm of his hand. MetalGarurumon, also Mega Level, has his Metal Wolf Claw attack. He shoots a powerful cold blast at his enemies and them blows them to pieces!"**

"They've digivolved to Mega…" Tai breathed.

"And just in time, too," Matt added. "We'll need them to beat VenomMyotismon."

They all watched as WarGreymon shot himself at VenomMyotismon, an orange glow covering his body and expanding when he came into contact with the giant Digimon, throwing him back a mile or so.

"In the car!" Matt's father called. And with that, the DigiDestined and their Digimon piled into the van once more and they drove to where the location of the battle had shifted..

"Metal Wolf Calw!" MetalGarurumon shot a barrage of missiles at the giant Digimon, encasing him in ice.

"Frozen solid!" Matt grinned.

"But not for long!" Kagome shouted. "Look!"

By the time they'd arrived, VenomMyotismon had digitized several other structures and blown up even more by shooting out mutlicoloured beams from his eyes.

"Out of the van!" Matt's father shouted when a beam hit a building, which hit their van, causing it to somersault a few times before settling on its roof.

"That's it," Gomamon said determinedly once they were out of the vehicle. "I'm tired of just sitting around here. We can't just do nothing while our friends get creamed."

"But what can we do?" Joe asked. "We've already tried and failed."

"Then we keep on trying," Sora told him.

Mimi nodded. "Our parents have always protected us. Now it's time we came through for them."

"Let's go!" Kudamon told the rest of the Digimon.

And with that, they all rushed into battle, digivolving along the way to their Champion levels. But it didn't stop there as the rest of the Digimon continued to digivolve into their Ultimate forms.

"Togemon Digivolve to: Lillymon!"

"Kabuterimon Digivolve to: MegaKabuterimon!"

"Reppamon Digivolve to: Chirinmon!"

"Birdamon Digivolve to: Garudamon!"

"Ikkakumon Digivolve to: Zudomon!"

"Everyone!" WarGreymon commanded. "Attack together!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Heaven's Gale!"

"Hand of Fate!"

The DigiDestined watched as the attacks were launched only to converge at VenomMyotismon's abdomen.

"And now to wind things up! Mega Claw!" WarGreymon spun around rapidly until he was spinning fast enough to conjure an orange twister around him, striking the giant Digimon's abdomen as well, this time piercing through his body.

The giant Digimon let out a cry of pain before falling to the ground, WarGreymon coming to a stop in the air behind the Digimon.

"That did it," Matt's father said with relief.

"I don't think so," Sora said worriedly.

They all watched with disbelief as VenomMyotismon stood up with a roar. "Did you really think you could defeat me? You've only awakened the beast within!"

It was then that a small—_thing_ popped into view from the hole WarGreymon had created.

"What the heck is that?!" Mimi said with disgust.

"You've gotten in my way for the last time, DigiDestined!" the giant Digimon roared. "Prepare to die!"

_'What do we do now?'_

_'I wish I could've done more.'_

_'I let everyone down again.'_

_'Maybe we should surrender.'_

These were just some of the thoughts running through everyone's head. But it was Tai's thought and belief that changed everything.

_'I will never give up against the likes of you!' _the brown-haired preteen thought.

Suddenly, the crests each child wore began to glow brightly with their respective colour.

"Everyone, look!" Tai pointed out to his sisters and friends. "Our crests; they're all starting to glow!" He looked up at VenomMyotismon and then back at his crest before turning to look at the rest of the DigiDestined. "Surround him, hurry!"

Once they did, a ray of light the colour of each crest shot out from their respective crest, reaching up to bind VenomMyotismon, preventing him from moving.

"That little thing…" Kagome narrowed her eyes at the little being in the pouch before turning to her brother. "Tai! The little thing in his body!"

"The what?" Tai whispered looking at the small creature.

"Curse you DigiDestined! Waaa! Waaa!" the little thing cried out in outrage, though it was more comical than anything with its squeaky voice.

"Of course, maybe that's what represents his true form," Tai breathed. "WarGreymon!"

"Pass me the ball!" WarGreymon shouted to MetalGarurumon who stood near the fallen globe structure of the TV Station.

With a grunt, the metal wolf Digimon passed on the structure like it was any soccer ball to Digimon armoured in gold.

"SHOOT!" all the DigiDestined shouted together.

With a solid kick, WarGreymon launched the globe structure straight at the little being in VenomMotismon before following it up with his own attack combined with MetalGarurumon's.

"Terra Force!"

"Metal Wolf Claw!"

Upon impact, VenomMyotismon's body warped in shaped and twitched as he screeched in pain and denial. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

The DigiDestined and their partners watched as the giant Digimon disappeared piece by piece into particles of data.

Cheering broke out the moment the last piece of Myotismon dissolved into data.

Kagome and the other laughed as Tai did happy dance while carrying Koromon around in his arms.

* * *

-A Little While Away-

The moment VenomMyotismon had been destroyed, unseen by the DigiDestined, nine coloured wisps traveled through the skies to their rightful owners.

One by one, each wisp entered the cold body of one child that had previously been possessed by a Crest of Discord, returning the colour and life to their bodies.

"What happened?" a girl asked.

"What are we doing here?" another boy asked.

"I want my mommy!" a voice cried.

The nine all huddled together to watched the rapidly clearing sky in confusion and awe. Yes, it seemed that everything was going to be just fine with the nine children. But then again, they never noticed the small black marking on the sides of their necks…

* * *

-Fuji TV Station-

"Hey look!" Sora called. "The sky's clearing up!"

"Finally!" T.K laughed.

However, the faces of relief and delight were wiped off their faces and warped into shock once they took a look into what should have been a clear-blue sky. The sky was now dark with strip running through it, the strips showing images of upside down land and water in them.

"What's happened?" Kagome asked.

"That's not possible," Joe said faintly, "There's a giant island floating in the sky! Upside down!"

Kari gasped as she clung to Kagome and grabbed Tai's hand.

_'What's going on _now_?!'_ Kagome thought worriedly.

"Things are just getting weirder," Tai said. "But why? What's going on now? And just when we just defeated Myotismon!"

"I can't say that I know anymore about it than any of us do," Izzy told them. "I'm checking feed from all around the world, but looks like no satellite or radar can pinpoint exactly what that place up in the sky really is."

It was then that people started flooding the area from the ferry that had just gotten to port.

The group watched as T.K met up with his mother, though Matt and his father were a little more awkward with the reunion than anything.

"Check this out," Izzy said suddenly. "The air force is sending everything they've got to identify that giant land mass in the sky, but so far they've got nothing. For now, however, they're declaring it as highly dangerous."

"I know it's nice that T.K, Matt, and Izzy have their familiaes with them," Mimi commented, "And I don't want to seem jealous, but I really hope my parents are okay."

"I know how you feel," Sora agreed.

_'So do we…'_ Kagome thought sadly. _'I hope you're okay, Mama, Papa…'_

"Hey!" Tai called out, seeing a light in the distance.

"All right!" Joe exclaimed. "It's my brother…hey, I didn't say he could ride my scooter…"

"How are our parents? Is everyone all right?" Mimi bombarded the older male with questions the moment he took off his helmet.

"Everyone's okay," Jim grinned. "The moment that monster disappeared, they wall stopped the chanting and woke up from whatever spell they were under!"

His face grew serious, though, when he pulled his hand-held radio out of his pocket. "Now let's take a look at what the news is saying about that stuff in the sky…"

He extended an antenna, turned a dial, and pushed it before anyone could hear anything.

_"The latest report we have from the Air Force chief of staff, confirms that the mysterious land mass in the sky is not an illusion," _a woman's voice reported as fuzzy images of the news feed played across the screen. _"It is very real, and after several confrontations, apparently very dangerous."_

"It's covering the entire sky," Joe spoke.

"It's got to be Myotismon again," Matt said determinedly.

"But that's impossible, right?" Tsunomon asked. "We defeated him."

"It does sound a little hard to believe that it's him doing that when he's gone," Kagome confirmed.

"You heard the news report," Joe told them all, "It's definitely dangerous, so who else could be behind it?"

All the while Izzy had been looking into the sky, his eyes narrowed upon one thing in particular. _'There's something familiar about that mountain… But it couldn't be, could it?'_

"Hey, Tai," the auburn-haired boy looked over to his friend.

"Yeah?" Tai answered.

"See if you can get a closer look at that mountain over there," Izzy told him, pointing to one of the many mountains within the sky.

"Whatever you say," Tai pulled out a small telescope out of his pocket and started looking around at the different mountains. "Hey, which one are you talking about?"

"The big one right there!" Izzy said, his finger still pointing to that one peak.

"Oh yeah, like that help—Ah!" Tai exclaimed.

"What?" Izzy asked. "Did you find it?"

"What I found," Tai said in astonishment, "is a jetliner!"

Everyone looked up into the sky at this, and sure enough, there were the tell-tale lights of a jetliner in the air, headed straight for the land mass in the sky.

Tai watched as the plane drew closer and closer to the land mass before taking an unexpected nosedive. "The place was headed straight for whetever's in the sky, but before it could reach it, it just started falling!"

"Biyomon!" Sora nodded at her partner.

"Biyomon Digivolve to: Birdamon!"

The small bird that was now the large firebird flew into the sky, trying to get to the plan as fast as she could, when she spotted something familiar.

"What's Kuwagamon doing here?" she asked no one in particular. The firebird watched as the insectoid Digimon flew past the jetliner's wing, only for it to freeze over with a silver substance.

She hurried to the plane just as the vehicle started spiraling out of control. Birdramon went up underneath the plane in an attempt to slow it down, but to no avail, the pressure and weight added together were just too much for the firebird.

"Birdamon Digivolve!" Sora shouted, her crest glowing once she said her piece.

"Birdamon Digivolve to: Garudamon!"

"You go and help, too, buddy," Izzy told his partner.

"You got it!" Tentomon saluted his intelligent friend. "Tentomon Digivolve to: Kabuterimon!"

"I'm coming, Garud—Wha?" Kabuterimon headed for Garudamon, but stopped when he saw Kuwagamon buzzing around. "Kuwagamon? What's he doing here? Electro Shocker!" the ball of electricity was launched at the insectoid Digimon, but instead of hitting him, like it should have, the attack passed right through him, as though he were no more than a mirage.

"Don't touch him, Kabuterimon!" Garudamon warned her companion, remembering just what had happened when Kuwagamon had passed over the jetliner.

The insectoid Digimon did as he was told and dodged Kuwagamon before going up to help Garudamon land the plane somewhere safe.

"It's great that you got everyone down safely," Tai said, "But how'd Kuwagamon get here?"

"He came out of that land in the sky," Yokomon chirped.

"Then I was right," Izzy nodded. "That continent in the sky is really the Digital World."

"WHAAA?!" Joe cried out in shock as the rest of the DigiDestined looked into the sky with surprised and worried expressions.

"So that must be why you recognized that mountain," Matt commented.

"It's does look sorta familiar," Mimi added.

"But how'd it get there?" Sora asked.

"Hey guys!" Jim called out to the group of children. "Listen to this!"

The DigiDestined and their partners hurried over to where the older male was and crowded around him, their Digimon right beside him.

_"We now bring you some new footage of truly bizarre scenes,"_ the woman reported. _"No official explanation has yet to be given what you see here."_ The screen flashed with images from all round the world with Digimon appearing in each one. But what got the kids the most was the one with Kuwagamon next the plane that had just been rescued.

"Kuwagamon again!" Yokomon pointed out. "And if we try and touch them, we'll freeze just like that plane's wing!"

"And when I fired my Electro Shocker," Motimon added, "it passed right through him."

"Just what is going on here?" Tai clenched his fists.

Kagome, meanwhile stood a little off to the side, close enough to hear what had been said, but far enough to be close to Kari and Salamon, who's appeared just after Myotismon had been defeated.

"Is that your world up there?" Kari asked her partner.

"I think so," Salamon shook her head. "But I definitely remember it being right side up!"

"This is a little disturbing," Kudamon commented.

"What?" Kagome asked. 'Knowing that we're looking at your world from a whole different perspective?"

"The fact that we're seeing it at all," the fox-like Digimon said grimly.

"Hang on a second," Izzy said, getting everyone's attention. "I think I get it now. We've been home for a few days, but time passes by much faster in the Digital World, so years and years must have passed by now."

"And since we left when the Digital World was such a mess," Koromon added, "It's only had years and years to get worse! I can only imagine just what everything looks like now!"

"And all the problems in the Digital World," Sora said in realization, "have become our problem here in our world."

All the DigiDestined and their Digimon looked up into the sky with shock gracing each other's faces.

"Then that's that," Tai said determinedly. "We've got to go back!"

"But how do we get there?" Kagome asked.

"The last time we went," Joe remineded them, "Our digivices took us there. You guys can try it."

"You're coming too, Joe," Izzy chuckled. "We're all in this together."

"Okay, then, digivices out, everyone!" Tai said as they all stood in a circle. They all held their arms out with their digivices in the palms, screen-faces up.

"Next stop: The Digital World," Tai announced, trying to keep the mood light, "Keep your hands and feet inside at times!"

"Here we go!" Matt said as the digivices glowed and shot out a beam each in unison that combined to form a larger multicoloured beam of light that led from the ground straight into the sky.

"Good work," Izzy nodded. "This light must be here to guide us."

"And all we have to do is follow it!" Kari pitched in.

"Back to the Digital World," T.K added.

"T.K!" came the voice of his mother.

"Oh," the young blonde boy turned around to face his mother. "I'm sorry I have to go again, Mom, and just when we got back together."

"You can't!" T.K's mother denied.

"Let him go," Matt's father said quietly, but loud enough for all to hear. "We've made some selfish decisions of our own, remember? We have to let them do this; this could just be even more important than we realize."

The dirty-blonde-haired woman said nothing as her eyes filled with tears.

"You have to understand that the world is doomed if we don't go!" Matt tried reasoning. "We're doing this to protect you, Mom!" T.K nodded in agreement.

"Matt…" the woman said, her tears finally spilling over her cheeks.

"You guys better get going, then!" Jim said, trying to lighten the atmosphere even if a bit. "Although it's hard to believe that the fate of the world rests with a bunch of kids like you!" He winked at the group. "I guess if the sun doesn't come up tomorrow, then we'll at least know you failed!"

Izzy's mother, however, seemed to take this in a whole different way. "Stop it!" She scolded. "You've got to have faith in your brother and his friends; what they're doing is extremely brave!"

"Whoa, sorry lady," Jim waved his arms back and forth, "I didn't mean anything!"

_'Yeah you decide to joke about that when it really _could_ be the end of the world,'_ Kagome shook her head. _'Smooth move…'_

"It's okay, I know he was only joking," Joe said, his eyebrow twitching. "Besides, I'm going to make darn sure the sun _does_ come up!"

"Joe!" Sora giggled. "I never knew you have it in you!"

"What a man!" Mimi added as they all broke into laughter.

Joe just slumped as he realized just how he was acting, and while he didn't notice that he'd slumped right into the beam of multicoloured light, he did notice when he started rising in the air, a panicked expression on his face.

"I guess it's time to go!" Tai explained as they all ran into the beam with their Digimon.

"Matt! T.K!" their mother called out to them. "Take care of each other!"

The two brothers only waved, though matt looked away with an awkward flush.

Jim and Izzy's waved their goodbyes to their respective family members.

"I love you, Sora!" Sora's mother called out. "I'll be right here waiting for you when you get back!"

"Bye, Mom," Sora whispered. She cupped her hands over her mouth. "Bye Mom!"

"Mama! Papa!" Mimi cried out, tears spilling over her cheeks.

"Be careful, Sweetie!" Mimi's parents called out together, holding each other as they watched their daughter and her friends disappear into the sky.

"Bye Mama, Papa!" Kagome called out as Tai hugged her to his side with Kari clutching their fronts.

"Bye Mama! Daddy!" Kari yelled.

"We'll see ya real soon!" Tai shouted to their parents.

"Be careful, Tai!" Airi Kamiya called back to her children.

"And be sure to take care of your sisters, Tai!" Ryo Kamiya reminded his son.

"Don't worry!" Kari shouted, "We'll all be back!"

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	8. Book One: Introducing the Dark Masters

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!**

AN: Okay, I've submitted two drawings into my DeviantArt account (for which the link can be found on my profile). One is how Kagome should look in Adventure 1, while the other is how she'd look four years later in Adventure 2 along with the Digi-Egg she'd get. Both are a little rough looking since I took the picture to post them with a camera and in a not well-lit environment at that, so that would be the reason for the poor quality in the photos. If you ask about the lighting thing, then all I can tell you is that my entire house is dark and the sky outside is completely overcast with very little light anyway.

And I'm also going to say it again just in case no one read the Authot's Note in the beginning of the last chapter. I've already posted the first four chapters of my InuYasha/Digimon Frontier fic, A Different Frontier. The first chapter isn't much, while the next three are quite close to the episodes. The one after that which I've yet to post will be original, but will tie into the plot.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-Introducing the Dark Masters-Xx**

(AN: I SINCERELY HOPE YOU READ THAT AUTHOR'S NOTE ABOVE BEFORE READING!)

The DigiDestined all shouted and yelled as they were suddenly sent from floating into the sky to falling from it. The children all held tight to their Digimon partners, not wanting to lose them in the trip.

It wasn't long before they all landed on a grassy floor with a loud 'thump'.

"I guess we're back," Tai said, rubbing his head before looking over his sisters to see if they were hurt.

"In the Digital World?" Mimi asked, dazedly.

"Affirmative," Izzy nodded.

"Then why is it dark?" T.K asked

"Yeah," Matt added. "That's a little weird, since all we saw last time was usually sun, sun, and more sun."

Kagome then looked up into the sky and gasped. What could have been a nighttime sky was now filled with patches of a dark-aqua hue filled with tiny glowing specks that looked like stars. "Look up there!"

"Talk about weird," Tai breathed.

"Could that be Earth?" Matt asked.

"It must be," the auburn-haired boy told them. "It only makes sense that if we saw the Digital World from Earth that we'd see Earth from the Digital World."

It was then that Joe noticed something, or rather _someone_, missing. "Gomamon? Where are you?" He started patting around the tall grass and bushes of leaves nearby, trying to locate his partner.

"Joe!" the white Digimon shouted, popping his head out from within Joe's over-the-shoulder duffle. "I've been snoozing in here!"

"Huh?" Joe commented. "Then we'll just save the world with—ACK!" the older boy fell over as something small scurried over his face and the land shifted right under his feet.

"Joe!" Gomamon shouted. "Hold on!"

_'Wait a second,'_ Kagome's eyes narrowed at the tiny pink speck she saw in the tall grass. She looked at Kari and the sisters nodded.

One by one, each of the In-Training Digimon digivolved back into their rookie forms as they headed over to help the blue-haired boy.

"Wait!" Kari called out to them, stopping the Digimon in their tracks.

Kagome and Kari slowly made their way to the patch of grass where they assumed a Digimon was hiding and knelt down before it.

"It's okay, you can come out," the brown-haired girl told whatever was in the grass.

Kagome nodded. "You're among friends," she said gently, "you don't have to be afraid."

Slowly the grass moved as a pink mouse made its way out before collapsing weakly in front of the girls and the rookie Digimon.

"Oh my goodness!" Palmon exclaimed, perking up when she saw who it was. "It's Chuumon!"

"He doesn't look too good," Mimi commented, looking worried. "I wonder what happened to him?" _'It must have been bad if Sukamon's not with him; those two are inseparable!'_

"Mi-Mimi? Palmon?" Chuumon rasped. "I'm…glad you're…back to save us…"

Mimi scooped the little Digimon into her arms as the rest of the rookie Digimon and DigiDestined, bar Gomamon, Joe, Matt, and Tai, sat in a circle around her.

"Whatever happened couldn't have been good," Biyomon said grimly.

"Poor thing," Sora cooed.

It was then that the group heard a yelp from a little bit away from them. Looking over in that direction, they gasped and stared at the crumbling and shifting ground in disbelief.

"Are you trying to get a hold of Gennai?" Tentomon asked Izzy, who sat and typed away at his computer.

"Well, I'm not playing solitaire," Izzy joked.

"Hey, he's waking up!" Kagome told everyone.

"Chuumon?" Mimi asked softly.

The little mouse Digimon groaned as he awoke, still weak from whatever he'd been through. "Mimi? Then I wasn't dreaming? It really is you…"

"Why don't you tell me what happened?" Mimi asked gently.

"What happened to your friend, Sukamon?" Palmon inquired.

Chuumon, looked even more worn at that. He wore a defeated and sorrowful expression on his face as he answered, "I-I lost him!" With that, the little mouse broke into tears.

Mimi and the rest of the girls did their best to calm the little Digimon with words of comfort as they rubbed his back and ears.

Eventually, Chuumon calmed down enough to tell the DigiDestined what had happened. "After you left File Island, Sukamon and I just went on with life as usual; you know, eating, eating, and more eating. But then one day something weird happened; the ground started shifting and breaking up on us. That's how I lost Sukamon. It wasn't long before a dark force took over the Digital World and rebuilt it to make it easier to conquer. I've been in hiding ever since…"

"The Digital World's been reconstructed?" Tai asked in shock. "But how?"

"It's been completely discombobulated!" Chuumon burst out. "Everything's been bunched up over there," he nodded to a large coloured mountain just a few metres away from them, "It's called Spiral Mountain."

"So it's…all up there?" Matt commented faintly, looking up the tall structure.

"Colour me cynical," Joe added in, "but nothing surprises me about this place anymore."

"Wait," Tai said in realization. "What happened to all the other Digimon? What happened to Leomon?"

"I don't know," Chuumon shook his head. "But I've heard that _they'll_ destroy anyone who gets in their way!"

"Who will?" Kagome asked softly, trying not to spook the little mouse anymore than he already was.

"Who?" the mouse Digimon shuddered. "The Dark Masters, of course!"

"Well they couldn't be tougher than anyone else we've fought before," Tai said.

"No way!" Chumon exclaimed. "They'll beat the pants right off of you!"

"We beat Myotismon, so we'll beat them, too!" Tai nodded determinedly.

"Don't worry," Sora told the mouse Digimon. "As long as the eight of us are together, nothing will happen to you."

It was then that a loud laugh echoed around them.

"Who's there!" Matt demanded.

"I've been waiting for you, DigiDestined!" a voice said with a slight, but barely noticeable accent. That said, the ground before the nine children exploded as a large metal snake-like Digimon shot up through the ground.

(AN: I will assume that we all know what the Dark Masters look like, so I won't be giving thorough descriptions of them. If you need a reminder, you can look them up in the links I will post below.)

"Oh no!" Chuumon all but shouted. "**It's MetalSeadramon! That's one hard nose! And I _mean_ hard nose; take my advice, this is one train you'd rather miss!**"

The Digimon now dubbed as MetalSeadramon, laughed darkly took a sharp nosedive at the DigiDestined, knocking them all around to different areas, but still close enough to each other.

"Okay," Matt grunted, standing up from where he was thrown, "If that's the way you want it, then we can play rough, too!"

MetalSeadramon only gave a loud growl in response as he flew around in the air to make a comeback.

"Let's go, Agumon!" Tai said, holding up his digivice.

"Gotcha!" the orange dinosaur nodded.

"Agumon Digivolve to: Greymon!"

"It's our turn now!" Matt added.

"Gabumon Digivolve to: Garurumon!"

"Tentomon Digivolve to: Kabuterimon!"

"Palmon Digivolve to: Togemon!"

"Kudamon Digivolve to: Reppamon!"

"Gomamon Digivolve to: Ikkakumon!"

"Biyomon Digivolve to: Birdamon!"

"Salamon Digivolve to: Gatomon!"

"Patamon Digivolve to: Angemon!"

"Nova Blast!" Greymon launched his large fireball at the metal dragon, but the Digimon only broke through it, knocking Greymon out of the way.

"Meteor Wing!"

"Howling Blaster!"

Garurumon and Birdamon launched their attacks as well, but only received the same result as Greymon did. Their attacks had no effect and were shoved out of MetalSeadramon's path.

It was then that the rest of the Digimon launched their attacks together, hoping to gain at least a little leeway.

"Electro Shocker!"

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

"Hand of Fate!"

"Sky Fissure!"

"Lightning Paw!"

"How about some Needle Spray!"

But like before, MetalSeadramon only broke through the combined attacks like it was nothing, bashing the Digimon away as he flew into the air to circle above them, laughing.

"Foolish children!" the metal dragon laughed. "You should know your powers aren't strong enough!"

_'I think we just realized that now,'_ Kagome glared up at the Digimon above them as she went over to see how badly damaged Reppamon was.

"What's going on?" Mimi asked, distraught. "How's he beating us this bad?"

"It's because he's a Mega Level Digimon!" Izzy reported, looking up from his computer. "Even nine champions won't do much damage against a Digimon like that. He's stronger than all of us combined!"

"Then we're toast without extra power!" Tai exclaimed.

"Anyone ever notice that we're always at the wrong place at just the wrong time?" Joe near whimpered.

"Now it's time to take one nasty ride!" MetalSeadramon said his nozzle-like nose began glowing aqua. "River of Power!" The aqua glow in his nose shot out to become a powerful beam that broke up the land the DigiDestined stood upon.

One by one, each of them were shot into the same direction, their Digimon keeping a tight hold on them to stop anything from separating them.

Eventually, they all had landed, however, everyone but Angemon and T.K were unconscious for the time being. When they woke, Angemon had already been shot out from the sky and had de-digivolved back to Patamon.

They turned to the attack and found themselves looking at a large machine dinosaur with a pair of large cannons on his back and hollow eye sockets in the head.

"Guys, get ready for another Mega Digimon!" Izzy warned when he came to and opened his computer. "**That's Machinedramon! That metallic mutant can blow a Digimon out just like a birthday candle!**"

It was then that all of the present Champion Digimon began to digivolve into their Ultimate forms.

"Greymon Digivolve to: MetalGreymon!"

"Garurumon Digivolve to: WereGarurumon!"

"Kabuterimon Digivolve to: MegaKabuterimon!"

"Togemon Digivolve to: Lillymon!"

"Reppamon Digivolve to: Chirinmon!"

"Birdamon Digivolve to: Garudamon!"

"Gatomon Digivolve to: Angewomon!"

"Ikkakumon Digivolve to: Zudomon!"

"Go!" Tai shouted. "Show him what you're made of!"

"Hope they're made of something strong enough," Kagome commented worriedly, with Kari nodding in agreement.

"Huh?" Tai looked at his sister confusedly.

The DigiDestined watched as the eight Digimon charged at the Mega Level Digimon, but they were no match for him, either. "Giga Cannon!" Machinedramon started firing out bolt after bolt nonstop from his cannons, throwing the Ultimate Digimon away one by one, before he shot the ground the children stood on, causing it to crumble from beneath them.

The group shouted as they plunged into a dark chasm, each holding on tight to their partner, or in Mimi's case, both her partner and Chuumon. But it wasn't long before they all stopped in midair.

"We…stopped?" Izzy asked. "But that's impossible!"

"But it much better than landing on our heads," Mimi pointed out.

Sudenly out of nowhere, Garudamon and WereGarurumon began fighting with one another for no apparent reason, each throwing kicks and punches at each other.

"Hey," Matt called, "can't you give it a rest for a minute or two?"

"What are you doing?" Sora asked. "We're supposed to be on the same side!"

"We can't control it!" Garudamon told them in between punches.

"We can't control our bodies!" WereGarurumon added.

"Not in control of you—Oh!" Sora was cut off when she found her body posing in ridiculous forms all by itself.

"I've always hated any form of exercise!" Joe complained. "What's happened to me!" He hung onto Zudomon's horn as his feet started a running motion in midair.

It was then that Kagome noticed something. She bent her hand at a slight angle and there they were, very thin strings attached to every joint and part of her body.

"Strings?" Kagome whispered, wiggling her fingers slightly and feeling a very faint resistance. "Guys! Someone's turned us into puppets and they're using us like a bunch of toys!"

"Hehehe! Well awen't we a little Miss Smawty Pants!" a voice squeaked from above.

They all looked up to find a Digimon that looked quite like a wooden marionette holding a large metal hammer.

"Hewe, I'ww even hewp you wook up my pwofiwe in that computew of youws!" the puppet Digimon wiggled his fingers, making Izzy's fingers move along to type on his keyboard.

(AN: I've decided to give Puppetmon a slight speech problem that most little kids have when they begin talking, mainly because he's always reminded me of a spoiled young child that does what it wants when it wants because there's no one there to teach him a lesson. So any 'L's' and 'R's' will be replaced by 'W's' when Puppetmon speaks, okay?)

"Guys!" Izzy reported. "He's another Mega Digimon! **Puppetmon has a controlling personality and a rotten temper. Get him mad and he'll bop you with his hammer!**"

"If you want to hit something then you should go and bop yourself for how you look in that stupid helmet!" Mimi blurted out.

"Mimi!" Lillymon gasped.

_'This isn't the time for fashion advice!'_ Kagome smacked her forehead.

Puppetmon only laughed. "I'm gonna have to wet you go now! But I pwomise to destwoy you! Puppet Pummew!" He shifted his hammer so that the revolver face faced the children and their Digimon as it shot out yellow bolts at the group.

One by one, they were all flung away as each of the Ultimate Digimon de-digivolved back to their In-Training forms, bar Gatomon, Agumon, and Gabumon. And with that, they were all sent spiraling away to some other place.

When they woke up next, the DigiDestined found themselves in a large coliseum with four large pillars erected into the centre.

"Where are we now?" Kari asked.

It was then that a honking noise was heard.

The group turned around to find a clown in a pink-polka-dot out walking out from behind one of the pillars on a large red ball.

"Well hello there, boys and girls!" the clown greeted cheerfully.

_'He's too happy…'_ Kagome's eyes narrowed, her hold on Puttimon tightening ever so slightly. _'Anyone that cheerful with the state the Digital World is in right now definitely isn't someone to trust…'_

"Welcome!" the clown continued. "Today, I'll be telling you all an amazing story!"

He held up a semi-bad crayon drawing of the nine DigiDestined and changed the images as his story progressed. "Once upon a time there were nine DigiDestined who went with their companions to try to save the world. The children discovered that in order to do that, they'd have to climb to the top of Spiral Mountain. But to their dismay, the Dark Masters defeated them, so sad!"

"Hey Clownie!" T.K shouted. "Nobody's laughin' at your story!"

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry!" the clown's tone turning into a mocking one. "Did I happen to mention that this story was true? I was only giving you a preview of the plot!" the clown disguise dissipated to reveal a malevolent looking clown with a black and white mask and flashy clothes with a pair of swords on his back.

"Fools!" the clown Digimon laughed as he leapt to the top of one of the pillars.

"Ah! It's Piedmon!" Chuumon said in panic. "**Piedmon's a Mega Phantom Digimon of the worst kind! You never know what he's gonna look like next!**"

"Well, I think your plot needs a few rewrites!" Tai retorted. He turned to look at his Digimon. "Agumon!"

"You can do it, Gabumon!" Matt nodded at his Digimon.

Both Digimon glowed as they warped to their Mega forms.

"Agumon Warp Digivolve to: WarGreymon!"

"Gabumon Warp Digivolve to: MetalGarurumon!"

"Show 'em what you're made of MetalGreymon!" Tai shouted.

"Teach that Joker a lesson he'll never forget, MetalGarurumon!" Matt called.

"Terra Force!" WarGreymon launched the giant blazing ball at the clown Digimon, who avoided the attack.

"Metal Wolf Claw!" a freezing icy gust was headed towards Piedmon, but he only broke through it with his swords.

"Trump Sword!" Piedmon threw a multi-sword barrage at the two Mega Digimon, causing them to de-digivolve back into their rookie forms.

"Even two Mega Digimon couldn't take him down!" Sora said worriedly.

"This is not good," Joe stated on the verge of panicking.

"Not to mention he's a walking fashion disaster," Mimi added.

"Your two Mega Digimon are newly evolved," Piedmon stated. "How can you expect them to go up against an experienced, and might I boast, superior Digimon such as moi?"

_'He sounds like he's trying to teach us a lesson,'_ Kagome blinked. _'Or at least he was until he started bragging.'_

"Please allow me to present my fellow actors in this charming and captivating comedy of errors," Piedmon snarked. "MetalSeadramon!"

Said Digimon burst through the ground, laughing manically.

"Machinedramon!"

The metal mutant Digimon bust through one of the pillars with a roar.

"Puppetmon!"

The marionette Digimon laughed as he appeared out of thin air. "You thought you wewe thwough with me, but I wanted to pway some mowe!"

"And myself, Piedmon!" The clown Digimon gave a small chuckle. "Now we'd like to ask our audience for volunteers, who would like to be the first to have the honour of being destroyed by the Dark Masters?"

When no one spoke up, as they were glaring at the four Mega Digimon, Piedmon's smile grew. "Oh come now, don't tell me you have stage fright?"

It seemed that the pressure had finally gotten to Mimi because the caramel-haired girl burst out into tears.

"Mimi…" Sora put a hand on her friend's shoulder as Kagome rested her hand on the other, trying to soothe the girl, but to no avail.

"Your incessant whining is getting on my nerves!" Piedmon gritted out through a clenched jaw. "You shall be the first to go!" He summoned a small dagger and threw it at Mimi.

Mimi's tears stopped as the children huddled together, before the targeted girl, when something happened that no one expected.

Chuumon leapt out of Mimi's arms and took the hit for her.

"Chuumon!" Mimi shouted. "Please! Speak to me!"

"I'm sorry, Mimi," Chuumon said, his voice growing fainter and fainter with each word, "but I think it's time for me to be deleted." And with that, the mouse Digimon's form dissipated into multicoloured sparks that drifted away on the wind.

"So now that that fool is out of the way," Piedmon coninuted as though he hadn't just destroyed an innocent Digimon, "who would like to be the next one to make their grand exit?"

"Pixi Bomb!" A small bomb with wings and an evil smile came flying before Piedmon and the Dark Masters, where it promptly exploded, causing a bright light to break out and blind the Mega Digimon, even if for a moment.

And before they knew it, the nine DigiDestined and their partners were whisked away in an invisible bubble by Piximon.

"Piximon!" T.K grinned. "Perfect timing!"

"I missed you guys, too," Piximon greeted.

"Prodigious," Izzy observed. "You used one of your famous barriers to avoid detection."

"Yup," the pink fuzzball replied.

"Piximon, you said that if the nine of us were together, we could save the world," Tai spoke, "but what's goin on? We're getting creamed by those bozos!"

"The truth is," Pizixmon said slowly, "that just being together isn't enough. There's more you need to do before you can defeat _him_."

_'_Him_?'_ Kagome wondered. _'He's not referring to Piedmon, so there someone else out there that we need to take down before everything'll be all right?'_

"But how can we know what to do if you don't help?" Sora asked.

"I'm with her," Joe agreed. "Enough with the riddles!"

Piximon shook his head. "This is something you must discover on your own."

Just then, a blast from the outside shook the bubble, allowing the field to be seen for a brief moment.

"There you are!" MetalSeadramon laughed, slithering ahead with the rest of the Dark Masters following them.

"I'll try to hold them off," Piximon told the children and Digimon before them. "You just make sure you start climbing Spiral Mountian, but you better move it."

"You can't stop them," Matt protested. "They're all Mega Digimon!"

Piximon nodded. "I know I can't win. But I should be able to distract them long enough for you to get away."

"Then I'm staying with you!" Tai said determinedly.

"No way!" Piximon shook his head. "Besides, we need you on Spiral Mountain!"

"River of Power!" MetalSeadramon shot his aqua beam at the area where he knew the DigiDestined were being hidden, exposing the bubble for a second time.

With that done, Piximon phased out of the bubble, but turned back to it to speak his last words to the children. "Please go! You all have an important task ahead of you, and once you succeed, no one will ever be able to stop you again. I know you all will make me proud!" And with that said, the pink Digimon held up his staff and bashed it against the side of the bubble, sending it flying in a certain direction.

"He's stronger than he looks," Gabumon said, trying to be optimistic through the silence that overtook the bubble.

"He'll have to be," Matt shook his head.

"Do you think he can do it?" Kari asked, looking up at her older siblings.

"I don't know, Kari," Tai told her quietly. "But I really hope he can."

Although that was meant to encourage the young girl, the elder DigiDestined and Izzy knew better. Piximon would be outmatched by the four Mega Digimon.

Just then a bright glow enveloped the collisseum.

"Oh!" Kari cried out. "Are you sure we should be leaving him there?"

"He wanted it that way, Kari," Kagome said quietly, putting her hand on her sister's shoulder. The raven-haired girl looked at her partner and asked a silent question. _"Is he…"_

Kudamon only nodded grimly.

* * *

Here are a couple links to the digimon I've personally added into the plotline. I've honestly wanted to put these in earlier, but I kept forgetting and the yeah... So here you go:

**Kudamon:** digimon . wikia wiki/Kudamon

**Reppamon:** digimon . wikia wiki/Reppamon

**Chirinmon:** digimon . wikia wiki/Chirinmon

**Puttimon:** digimon . wikia wiki/Puttimon

**Locomon:** digimon . wikia wiki/Locomon

**Dracmon:** digimon . wikia wiki/Dracmon

**Sangloupmon: ** digimon . wikia wiki/Sangloupmon

**Matadormon:** digimon . wikia wiki/Matadormon

**FanBeemon:** digimon . wikia wiki/FanBeemon

**Waspmon:** digimon . wikia wiki/Waspmon

**CannonBeemon:** digimon . wikia wiki/CannonBeemon

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	9. Book One: Of Dreams and Sacrifices

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!**

AN: I know I said that I wasn't going to have anything InuYasha related in this story, but I've rethought that and I've decided that if not soon, then during the Adventure 2 portion, I'll have some of the characters pop up into the mix to kick things up a bit, for lack of a more eloquent phrase at the moment.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-Old Friends and Dreams-Xx**

When the bubble finally landed, the nine DigiDestined found themselves in a very foggy environment. The fog was so think that they couldn't even tell see each other or where they'd landed.

"Okay," Kagome drawled. "So where did we end up, exactly?"

Kudamon shook his head. "Who knows? But I can tell you that everyone is still together because of Piximon's barrier."

"Hey!" they heard Mimi's voice. "The fog's clearing up!"

As the mist was slowly dissipating, the group of children and Digimon saw that they were on a beach, but it wasn't one that any of the DigiDestined, who'd been to the Digital World previously, recognized.

"Great," Joe said wryly, "now we can clearly see that we're lost."

"Could try to be a little more optimistic, Joe," Izzy sweat-dropped, "Just think of it as us on our way."

"That makes everything so much better," Matt said sarcastically.

"I don't know about you, but I'm getting cold," Kari said.

T.K nodded in agreement. "And hungry," he added.

Kagome's eyes softened at the youngest of the group and opened her arms. "Come on," she said gently.

Kari's eyes lit up at the familiar gesture and snuggled into her sister's arms. But T.K just stood there looking at the duo nervously, as though wondering if it really was okay. He looked up at his brother as though asking for permission.

"Go on," Matt nodded. "It's okay, she's not going to bite, you know."

T.K grinned and tumbled into Kagome's arms beside Kari as the older girl held the two close and rubbed their arms, trying to keeping them warm to the best of her ability.

_'They look like a family,'_ Matt thought, watching the scene, _'A strange one, but a family.'_

Tai smiled and shook his head lightly at the sight. _'That's Kagome for ya, always taking care of others before herself.' _"Okay, so is everyone else okay?" he asked. "Except for being cold and hungry and lost, I mean."

"Don't forget frightened and tired," Sora added, holding a snoozing Yokomon.

"And worried about Piximon," Mimi chimed in, rocking Tanemon gently to keep the small Digimon asleep.

"But I get the feeling that we've been here before," Izzy commented, looking around the beach and out onto the ocean. It wasn't until his eyes scanned a certain sight that he gasped. "I knew it! Look at that; smashed up telephone booths!"

"Telephone booths?" Kagome asked. "Here?"

Tai nodded in answer before looking at the pile of crushed metal and wire, just barely making out the shape of a telephone receiver in the rubble.

"Those can't be the same ones from before," Sora asked, "Could they?"

"It could be a coincidence," Matt shook his head, "But it makes sense."

"How?" T.K asked.

"Well, when we first came here, besides that bit with Kuwagamon, this is where we battled Shellmon," Izzy reminded them, "and it's also where Agumon first digivolved to Greymon."

"But then we've just been going around in one huge circle!" Tai exclaimed. "And here we thought we were making some progress!"

"Then I guess we should start walking," Kagome said, standing up and letting go of Kari and T.K, though the two stayed close to her anyway. "We won't be getting anywhere if we just stay sitting around here."

The children nodded as they picked up their Digimon, with the exceptions being Agumon and Gabumon, and walking off in a random direction.

"So we've just been going around in a huge circle?" Joe asked.

"Yeah," Mimi nodded. "But now that I think about it, walking kinda seems pointless if we're just going to go around in a loop."

"But what if the pointlessness of it is the entire point?" Sora asked.

"Say what?" Agumon and Gabumon did an anime fall at that.

"Sora, as interesting as that sounds," Tai shook his head, "I don't think this is the time for a Philosophy lesson."

Just then they heard a faint voice off in the ocean a few metres off shore. The children turned towards the body of water and found water splashing around and heard calls for help coming from that spot.

"Oh no! Someone's drowning!" Mimi said worriedly, pointing at the splashing water.

"We then somebody's got to save her," Kari said earnestly.

"They can't," T.K shook his head at the Digimon, "They're too tired; they'll drown if they go out there."

_'I'm getting a bad feeling about this…'_ Kagome narrowed her eyes at the splashing water before turning her eyes onto the two younger children before her. _'I don't think I'm going to like what they're going to do…'_

"Then we'll just have to save her!" T.K nodded. "Come on!"

"Right!" Kari followed after, the two running off for the shoreline.

_'Point one for intuition,'_ Kagome thought running up to her little sister and the young blonde. "Oh no you, steady now. There's no need to rush into things like that."

"Kagome's right," Tai nodded. "Someone bigger should go."

"We can use that," Matt gestured to the wooden boat that was conveniently laid out at the shore a few paces away.

_'If that doesn't scream suspicious,' _Kagome sweat-dropped, _'I don't know what would.'_

"Then we're coming, too!" Kari and T.K shouted.

"Hey wait up!" Joe ran after them.

"Don't forget about us!" Sora said as she, Mimi, and Izzy went after their friend.

"I guess I'm in, too," Kagome sighed, going after them as well. _'No matter how bad this feels…'_

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Stroke! Stroke!" Sora, Mimi, Matt, and Tai chorused as they rowed. Izzy and Joe were at the back, steering the rudder, while Kagome sat up front with T.K and Kari, keeping a tight hold on them.

But something was wrong, as the children came closer and closer, it seemed as though the high-pitched voice they heard was getting lower and lower.

"Um, is it me or did you guys hear that, too?" Mimi asked when they all stopped paddling.

"Not just you," Sora nodded.

Suddenly, a geyser of water shot up, drenching everyone within the outrigger, only to reveal an angrily gleeful Shellmon. "I'll have you now, pesky humans!"

"A sea monster!" Kari shouted.

"That's an understatement!" Tai said with a near-hysterical tone. "That's Shellmon, and it doesn't look like he's here for a little water polo! PADDLE!"

In no time, the outrigger was turned back around in the direction of the beach, but it very little good since Shellmon had caught up to them pretty quickly.

"You're in my domain now!" the large turtle-like Digimon roared as he chomped down on the boat, splitting it into two. One half with Izzy, Sora, Mimi, and Joe floated in one direction, while the other half with Kagome, T.K, Kari, Tai, and Matt floated down an opposite course.

"Exhausted or not, we've got to help them!" Agumon said, getting ready to digivolve.

"No way," Motimon spoke up.

"What?" Gabumon looked at the little pink Digimon like he was crazy. "Our friends and partners are out there and need help!"

"You misunderstood," Yokomon shook her head. "We'll go and help, you stay here and save your Digi-Strength."

"Motimon Digivolve to: Tentomon!"

"Puttimon Digivolve to: Kudamon!"

"Yokomon Digivolve to: Biyomon!"

"Tanemon Digivolve to: Palmon!"

"Bukamon Digivolve to: Gomamon!"

"Hold on!" Kagome shouted, gripping T.K and Kari tighter to her as Tai and Matt clambered up to the front in an attempt to steady the piece they were floating on.

"Poison Ivy!" Palmon's vines bound tight around Shellmon, as she tugged him in another direction.

"Huh?" the turtle-like Digimon commented. "What's going on?"

"Blinding Ray!" Kudamon's earring glowed a bright gold as did his eyes as a golden light engulfed Shellmon.

"ACK!" the large Digimon cried out. "I can't see!"

"Marching Fishes!" Gomamon summoned a large platoon of his multicoloured fish and created a large raft with them. Oddly enough, the raft of fishes was much stronger than it looked. "Get on!"

Tai nodded as he took T.K and Kari and helped them onto the makeshift form of transport, while Matt quickly, but carefully helped Kagome onto the sheet of fish.

"Let's go!" Biyomon nodded to Tentomon. Together, the two winged Digimon flew over to the other half of the boat and quickly pushed as hard as they could to help the half to Gomamon's fishes.

"Let's get going!" Izzy said urgently, jumping onto the raft with Joe, Mimi, and Sora following right after him.

"Now this is the way to travel!" Tai nodded.

"On a raft of fish?" Kagome raised an eyebrow.

Tai only grinned as he rubbed his head sheepishly.

By the time the children had gotten back to shore, Shellmon had disappeared, dazed from Kudamon's attack.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"This may not mean much now since they're dead tired," Tai spoke, "but I think today proved that our Digimon are getting stronger and stronger."

"How do you figure that?" Kagome asked.

"The last time we faced Shellmon," Tai explained to them all, "Agumon had to Digivolve to Greymon to beat him, and even then it was close. But this time we beat him easily without Greymon."

"Yeah," Agumon conceded, "but don't forget that they all ganged up on him, five to one."

"But they didn't need to digivolve as far to do it," Tai pressed on. "I really think you've gotten stronger than you were."

"Or Shellmon's probably weaker than he was," Kari retorted.

"Okay, why is everyone trying to be such a downer?" Tai put his hand on his hips. "I'm just trying to stay positive. Besides," his face turned pensive, "I still can't get something Piximon said out of my head."

_"The truth is that being together isn't enough. There's more you need to do before you can defeat _him_."_

"I think he meant that we have to get stronger," the brown-haired teen told them. "And that's just what's happening."

"Maybe Tai's right," Sora nodded.

"I _feel_ stronger," Biyomon added.

And this here started off the string of comments that followed as everyone and the Digimon began commenting on how they either looked or felt stronger.

"Come to think of it, you _are_ looking kinda buff," Matt told his partner.

"Thanks!" Gabumon grinned. "That's a compliment, right?"

"Do _I _look stronger, Izzy?" Tentomon asked.

"Well," Izzy laughed nervously. "Why don't you make a muscle and we'll see?"

Tentomon fell to the sand. "I was~!"

"Do I look stronger, T.K?" Patamon asked.

"Yeah," T.K grinned. "You looked buffed out to the max!"

"Kari?" Gatomon asked.

"Well, you don't look a lot different to me," the brown-haired girl told her partner. "But give it time, Gatomon, you'll catch up with the rest."

"Oh…" Gatmon's ears wilted.

Kagome winced. _'I don't think that's what she wanted to hear, Kari…'_

In an attempt to make the now sullen Digimon feel better, Agumon spoke to the feline Digimon. "Come to think of it, your coat's looking glossier."

"Really?" Gatomon perked up.

Kagome nodded and added in her own input this time, Kudamon back around her neck, though now you could actually see his face as he didn't need to stay hidden any longer. "Your fur's definitely shinier and it looks softer than the first time I saw you."

Eventually, they all broke out into laughter as they realized how silly they were acting.

Just then, Matt made a commented that caught everyone's attention. "Hey, is it me, or did it just get brighter all of a sudden?" He then cast a small grin at his brown-haired friend. "Or is it just Tai's _sunny_ disposition?"

Kagome and Kari giggled while Tai threw a dry look at his blonde friend before looking out at the ocean and spotted what looked like tufts of tress appearing in the distance. "Is this like a mirage or something?"

"Something smells suspiciously like food," Mimi hummed, sniffing the air.

"Hey, I smell it, too," Joe agreed, sniffing the air like Mimi, but only to find out where the scent was coming from.

One by one, each of them started to comment on the scent and began looking for the source. Eventually, in the distance a little while up the beach, there stood a large food shack.

"Hey," Matt asked slowly, "Was that shack there before?"

"Maybe someone moved in while we were gone," T.K answered.

"It would make sense if that happened," Gabumon conceded.

_'But that's still a little suspicious,'_ Kagome thought. _'We come to the Digital World feeling hungry and we don't see the shack until now? Something seems a bit fishy…'_

"Careful everybody," Izzy warned. "Remember, we're in the Digital World, so we have to be careful about what's real and what's not."

"Well looks can be deceiving," Tentomon spoke up, "But smells you can trust, and I definitely smell grilling burgers! It's a snack bar! Burgers, soda, ice cream, pizza, yummy in my digi-tummy!"

"Mirage or not, I'll take my chances!" Tai grinned. "Gangway!"

And with that said, the DigiDestined and their partners ran off laughing and squealing with joy toward the shack that proved not to be an illusion.

"Hurry up, Kagome," Kari said, pulling the older girl's hand, "Or you'll get left behind and they'll eat all the food!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming. You know that even if we go there slowly, the food's not going to leave" Kagome laughed at her sister's antics, despite her earlier reservations about the food hut. She looked down when felt another hand taking hers and found the culprit to be none other than T.K.

"T.K?" Kagome asked.

The little boy didn't look at her as a small tinge of red ran across his cheeks. He mumbled something.

"What was that?" Kagome asked confusedly.

"Thank you," the young blonde said, "for looking out for me…"

Icy orbs widened slightly before softening their gaze on the young boy. "It was nothing," she told the boy holding her hand. "But you're welcome."

Although it didn't seem like it, Matt had heard and even caught a glimpse of T.K interaction with Kagome, which served to puzzle him a bit.

While T.K was a trusting and happy boy, it took a while for him to warm up to someone he didn't know. But there he was holding Kagome's hand and he hadn't even known her more than a few hours at the most. _'He must really like her…'_ the older blonde thought, keeping up his cheerful appearance.

It was as if he was drawn to her.

But Matt couldn't say anything to that since he felt the same way, and he suspected that many of the others did, too. He didn't know much about the girl other than the fact that she was Tai's sister. But what he did know was that people were probably drawn to her because of the caring and selfless personality he'd caught a glimpse of back in their world.

It wasn't long before they'd reached the shack, but when they stepped inside, they didn't find a lively dining area or kitchen as they'd hoped. What they'd found was a large empty room with no windows except some straw and dried grass covering a few openings that lacked wood.

"What the—?" Matt looked around at the barren room. "What's going on?"

Sensing something coming their way, Kudamon nudged Kagome with an urgent look on his face. Nodding, Kagome gripped T.K and Kari close to her, placing herself slightly in front of them.

"Kagome?" Kari asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"He's coming," Kudamon narrowed his eyes.

Suddenly, the ground gave a great tremor from beneath them and a sandstorm started up outside of the shack. The sand piled up in front of the entrance higher and higher, until no one could pass through the thick mound of sand.

"It's a trap!" Sora shouted when a burst of sand bubbled from the ground, revealing a large scorpion-like Digimon behind it.

"Snack time~!" the Digimon cackled.

**"It's Scorpiomon,"** Patamon told them, **"One of MetalSeadramon's flunkies. Between his pincers and his tail, it's hard to know which end of him is worse!"**

"So sorry," Scorpiomon said mockingly. "But the only snacks here are you! Say 'Night-Night', 'cause it's bedtime! Scorpion Storm!" He released a large stream of sand that whipped around the large room.

"Kagome!" Tai shouted, trying to get to his sisters and T.K, but to no avail as the sand was slowly making him drowsier by the moment.

"I've got her!" Matt shouted to the brown-haired preteen. He struggled to walk as he gripped Kagome and the youngest two of the group close to him. He fought off the drowsiness for as long as he could, but in no time, he and everyone were fast asleep.

_'I knew this was a bad idea…'_ was the last thought Kagome had before she saw black.

* * *

-Dream-

_Kagome opened her eyes to find herself in a dark place with no light, no sound, or anything else for that matter._

_"Where am I?" Kagome whispered, looking around for some way out._

_"Hello!" she called. "Is anyone there? Tai! Kari? Kudamon?"_

_But no one answered back._

_"Okay, so there wasn't an echo," the raven-haired girl. "That must mean that I'm not in an enclosed space or something…but then, where would I be? Oh I hope everyone's all right…"_

_Suddenly, Kagome's crest began shining a stunning white underneath her dress. The raven-haired girl watched in slight awe as the tag and crest hovered out from underneath her collar to a few inches in front of her neck. A white light shot out of the crest, cutting through the darkness._

_"Okay," Kagome said slowly. "That wasn't creepy…but I guess I could follow it, it's not like I'm doing anything else." And with that said, the preteen walked in the path the light of her crest laid out for her. _

_She walked for what felt like a couple hours, but even then there was nothing else to be seen or heard but the sound of her footsteps and breathing. Soon enough, though, she was an opening of light a few metres away._

_Perking up, Kagome grinned and ran all the way to the opening and stepped through, this time finding herself in a completely different place than before._

_She stood in a large open meadow of lush, green grass that swayed gently in the sweet-scented breeze. The sky was blue and the sun shone beautifully, but beyond that there was only one other thing; a small shrine._

_Curiously, but cautiously, Kagome walked up to the shrine, knelt down before it, and pulled the doors open gently after bowing her head and say a prayer in respect. Within the shrine was a golden statuette of a dragon with piercing ruby eyes; on either side of the statuette burned two sticks of incense, as though lit only recently._

_"Why would my crest lead me to Oryu?" the raven-haired girl wondered. "Could he be connected to this somehow?"_

_It was then that Kagome's crest lit up again, but this time it didn't shoot out a light as it did before, but rather it seemed that it was trying to garner a reaction. It seemed that the idea worked when the statuette glowed with a faint-white outline._

_Kagome watched as the white glow slowly rose from the statuette to form a large transparent golden dragon with piercing red eyes._

_"Who has released me?" the dragon asked in a deep baritone voice._

_"I think that might have been me," Kagome said, looking up at the dragon curiously. "Who are you?"_

_The Dragon lowered his head to look at the raven-haired girl and stared into her eyes._

_A few moments passed before either of them blinked._

_"I am the Dragon of the Centre," the dragon spoke. "And who are you, Bearer of my Crest?"_

_"My name is Kagome Kamiya," Kagome answered before the rest of what he said hit her. "What do you mean 'your crest'? Doesn't the Crest of Compassion belong to me?"_

_The dragon nodded. "You are its rightful bearer, but I hold domain over that power; it is linked to me."_

_"Are you Oryu from the Old Tales?" Kagome asked. "Or are you a Digimon?"_

_"That is neither here nor there," the dragon said. "Why have you come?"_

_"My crest led me here," the raven-haired girl said simply._

_The dragon blinked at the young human before him. "I see…then it is time."_

_"Time?" Kagome parroted. "Time for what? What's going on?"_

_The dragon said nothing as he leaned over the young girl and pressed his nose to the top of her head. He let out a puff of gold smoke flow around her body as he let out a sort of purr._

_"Bearer—" the dragon began when he pulled away._

_"My name is Kagome, _not_ 'Bearer'," Kagome broke in. "Ka-go-me!"_

_The dragon looked at the young human with an odd look. It seemed that whoever this dragon was, no one had ever spoken to him like that before._

_"Kagome," the dragon said slowly, testing out the name._

_Kagome smiled and nodded at the use._

_"I bless you with what is mine," the dragon spoke, "but know that it can be both a blessing and a curse. Use this gift for what you believe is right, let no other sway you from your own path, create your own destiny."_

_Kagome nodded in awe, though still not quite understanding just what the dragon was speaking of. _'What gift did he give me? Why me? Is it because of my crest? Or is it something else?'

_It was then that she noticed that her form was becoming transparent and growing more so with each passing moment. She looked up at the dragon and watched as he, too, began to disappear little by little._

_"Whatever you did, thank you!" Kagome shouted as her form neared complete removal. "I'll do my best to use your gift wisely!" _'If I ever figure out what it is…'

_"That is all I can ask," the dragon said, his last words becoming a mere whisper on the wind as his transparent form disappeared and the glow from the statuette receded completely just as Kagome's form was gone as well._

-End Dream-

* * *

Kagome woke to someone calling her name and shaking her gently. "What? What's going on?"

"No time to explain," Joe said hurriedly, "all you need to know is that we all have to get out before MetalSeadramon barbeques us all!"

Nodding, Kagome stood with Kari and T.K, Matt supporting the preteen as they all sprinted out of the shack as fast as they could, just narrowly avoiding being caught in the blaze that the metal-dragon Digimon lit.

"Ha ha, DigiDestined!" they all heard MetalSeadramon say in triumph. "It was a rare pleasure knowing you—medium rare!"

"Waaaa! Hot! Hot! HOT!" the now conscious Scorpiomon, who Zudomon left behind inside the burning shack, shouted.

MetalSeadramon stopped laughing and looked at the shack in confusion. "Eh?"

"ACK!" Scorpiomon burst out of the burning shack and did a funny dance as he made his way to the ocean. "Who was the hot-tempered foul mouth who—Oh it was you, Boss. Okay, no problem!" He plunged into the water, extinguishing the flames set on his back. "Ahhh…"

As he watched his underling cool off in the water, the metal-dragon Digimon realized something and looked back at the burned shack to find only burnt wood. "No! NO! They're gone! SCORPIOMON! How did this happen?!"

"Uh, well, Boss, you see—" the scorpion Digimon tried speaking.

"Silence!" MetalSeadramon roared. "You've failed me, Scorpiomon! And I do not forgive failure!" He flew up into the air, his tail coiled around Scorpiomon.

"I didn't think you wo—AAAAH!" Scorpiomon shouted as he was let go from a high altitude, sending the scorpion Digimon hurling into the sand. Upon impact, a large sand cloud erupted, but when it faded away, there was nothing left but an imprint of Scorpiomon's body in the sand.

Once the task was done, MetalSeadramon slithered away in the air.

"He's gone," Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." _'But then, did I really dream of that dragon? And what was the gift he gave me?'_

"Well, at least we got out of it okay," Tai commented, looking over his sisters for any sign of injury.

"I hate to break it you," Mimi said solemnly, "but I don't think everything _is_ okay."

Joe nodded in agreement. "Mimi's right."

"What?" Tai looked at the caramel-haired girl and the older boy next to her. "What are you talking about? Did I miss something?"

"The Digimon are strong enough yet," Joe explained. "Both of ours had to digivolve again to Ultimate to take on Scorpiomon, and he was just a flunkie. Frankly, it's hard to see how they'd stand a chance against a fully digivolved monster like MetalSeadramon."

"Hmm," Tai put his fist to his chin in thought. "Maybe you're right. Maybe Piximon was talking about something else… But whatever the secret is, we've got to find it if ever want to save the world."

"Both of our worlds," Kagome added in. "Remember, somehow because of that whole Myotismon bit, the Digital World and our world seem to be merging, at least to some extent."

"And the sooner the better!" Tentomon shouted, flying up into the air.

It was then that a large wave rose up out of the ocean, churning twice before MetalSeadramon's blade-like horn pierced through with him rising up from the water.

"It's MetalSeadramon again!" Sora shouted.

"Zudomon, you get the others out of here as fast as you can," Lillymon ordered the large shelled Digimon; "I'll try and draw that overgrown snake away."

That said, Lillymon flew out to MetalSeadramon, fluttered around his face for a bit, and then flew off, leading him away from the DigiDestined. "Yoo-hoo you big, ugly—WHOA!" _'Great, he's fast, too!'_

"I wonder what she was going to call him…" Kagome muttered as Joe told his partner to quicken his pace.

"Do you think he's see us?" Sora asked.

"I don—" Tai tried answering, but was cut off by a loud roar behind them.

"You pathetic fools!" the metal-dragon shouted. "Do you think you'd be safe escaping by sea?"

"I'd take that as a yes!" Kagome said with wide eyes.

"Full speed ahead Zudomon!" Tentomon cried out.

"Cut it with the dog paddling and get to zooming!" Joe shouted, panicked.

"Tonight you'll be sleeping with the fishes!" MetalSeadramon cackled.

"Uh-oh," Lillymon's eyes widened, "I'd better do something or he'll catch up…Flower Cannon!"

The Mega Digimon turned when he felt a small blast bounce off his body. "And as for you…" he lifted up his tail faster than the flower Digimon could dodge and smacked her straight in Zudomon's direction.

"Lillymon, no!" Mimi cried out, she across Zudomon's back and opened her arms, getting ready to catch her partner, who'd de-digivolved back into Palmon.

Just then, MetalSeadramon sunk into the ocean without a word or ripple to show he'd been there.

"Do you think he's gone?" Tai asked.

Kagome looked at her brother in disbelief. "Yeah, he just left us when he's bent on trying to destroy us! That makes perfect sense!"

"Kagome's right," Izzy nodded. "He couldn't be gone; not while we're still alive."

"Then where could he be?" Sora asked.

"Maybe he's right below us…" Matt suggested.

"Shh, quiet," Tai reprimanded as they all fell silent, waiting.

After a few moments of inactivity, the children thought they were safe. But it seemed that the stillness wasn't to last as Zudomon was pushed back violently.

"What was that?!" T.K cried out.

"It's him!" Kagome shouted, when she saw a glint of gold and silver within the water. "He's trying to ram us!"

Kagome was proven right when MetalSeadramon rose up out of the water just enough for them to see him, but not enough so that he was completely out of the water. He charged Zudomon at a rapid speed, ramming the shelled Digimon once more. This time, however, the force of the blow was enough to knock the children off of Zudomon's back, leaving them to flail around In the water.

The shelled Digimon turned to MetalSeadramon, getting ready to attack, but had no time to do so when the metal-dragon launched his own. "River of Power!" The aqua-hued laser shot out from his nozzle-like nose, hitting Zudomon directly, sending him flying back as he de-digivolved.

"What are we going to do now?" Kari asked with wide eyes, clutching Gatomon close to her as they all tried to stay afloat.

"You're finished you upstart DigiDestined!" MetalSeadramon chuckled darkly. "In a word, you're sunk!"

It was then that the children saw a large shadow below them, but being in the position they were in, they couldn't tell what it was.

It seemed that the Mega Digimon had spotted the creature as well. "Who is that?" he narrowed his eyes at the moving shadow.

Just then, a large blue tail popped out of the water, creating a large wave that pushed the DigiDestined back a few metres.

"It's Whamon!" Tai shouted in surprised relief.

Said Digimon then leapt out of the ocean and rammed into MetalSeadramon, sending the Mega Digimon into the ocean with a great roar of confusion.

"Come on, everybody!" Tai called as they swam towards Whamon's open mouth. "I never thought, I'd want to be fish food, but we'll be safe there!"

"Technically, he's a mammal!" Izzy corrected.

"I really don't think that matters right now, Izzy," Kagome said, swimming towards the whale Digimon, her arm around Kari's waist to help her and Kudamon wrapped securely around her neck.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

It wasn't until a while later that the children far enough away from MetalSeadramon for Whamon to let them out of his mouth to sit on his back.

"Thanks for saving us, Whamon!" Mimi thanked the whale Digimon.

"Aw, don't mention it," Whamon said modestly. "No, seriously, don't mention it; I don't want it get around," he added quickly.

"Uh, guys," Matt spoke up, "we have a problem, remember? How are we going to be able to beat the Dark Masters?"

"How did they take over the Digital World in the first place?" Kagome asked from she sat with T.K and Kari, playing a hand clapping game to keep them occupied.

"Do you remember how they did it, Whamon?" Sora asked.

"Of course I remember Whamon," the whale Digimon chuckled. "Big fella, snappy dresser—oh wait, he doesn't wear clothes…anyway, he's a gre—"

"Whamon!" the children said, amused.

"What?" Whamon chuckled again. "Oh, you meant the Dark Masters. Well, I don't know all of the details, but soon after the Digital World began to warp, MetalSeadramon began to take over the seas."

"Darn!" Tai said in frustration as he threw a punch onto Whamon's back.

"Ouch," was all Whamon said.

"Oh, uh, sorry," Tai said awkwardly while everyone else sweat-dropped.

Kagome and Kari looked at Tai before nodding at each other. They got up and walked over to their brother, knelt down and Kari wrapped her arms around his while Kagome placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Please don't be angry," Kari pleaded. "We'll figure something out."

"And don't even think of going all pity-party on us right now," Kagome told her brother. "So listen to you cute little sister's words and I won't have to smack you, all right?" she threw a wink at the brown-haired preteen.

Tai smirked at his sisters' word before throwing an arm around them both to pull them close to him. "Yeah, we will. We've done it before, and we'll do it now."

"Yeah!" the rest of the DigiDestined and their partners shouted.

"That's the attitude," Whamon said approvingly. "Hold on; I'll take you somewhere safe, outside of MetalSeadramon's reach even if I have to swim to the far corners of the ocean! Did I mention I charge by the mile?"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Eventually, Whamon had taken them to a lone, crescent-shaped island, with the children still on his back as they did their best to catch some fish for lunch with Matt playing his harmonica to pass the time.

"_Cats land on their feet,  
But we still need to eat  
It's Gatomon's wish,  
for some fresh flying fish.  
'Cause I'm a kitty,  
A Digi-kitty, Oh yeah-h-h._"

The group bar, Matt, Joe, Izzy, and Tai watched as Gatomon sang along to the tune Matt was playing before leaping into the air with a meow. Only moments later did two perfectly sliced up fish land on the feline-Digimon's plate.

"That was great, Gatomon, but the rest of us need to eat, too, remember?" Palmon piped up. "Stand aside and let me show you how it's done."

The plant Digimon went over to stand where Gatomon had and closed her eyes, humming in concentration. Seconds later, her eyes popped open. "Poison Ivy!" Her vines shot out and grabbed a large fish that was at least twice her size and weight, though it unfortunately landed on top of her. "Dinner is served…" she said dazedly.

Kagome looked up when she heard Matt stop playing his harmonica. She watched as her brother, Izzy and the blonde speak with each other about something or another, though she had a feeling it was about the Dark Master, but she was a little too far to hear them.

Eventually, she turned back to the large fish Palmon had caught only to see Agumon sucking up into his mouth hole! She and the rest, who were watching, looked on in horrified fascination.

Suddenly, Joe fell into the ocean with no wraning whatsoever.

"Hey, guys!" came Gomamon's voice.

_'So that's what Joe's line caught on…'_ Kagome thought amusedly.

"We got trouble!" the aquatic Digimon shouted up to them.

At this, the smiles and carefree expression left everyone's faces as they stood alarmed.

"Divermon are headed this way!" Gomamon shouted up to them again.

"Oh no!" Mimi cried out. "Not Divermon! Anything but Divermon!" she then stopped and blinked. "What _are_ Divermon?"

"They're MetalSeadramon's heanchmen," Whamon reported. "It seems that the fish have seen them about 200 miles behind us."

"So what do we do now?" T.K asked.

"Well we certainly can't stay here; they'll find us too easily," Whamon answered. "I'll have to dive, quick everyone get inside me! And don't mind the smell, I had fish for lunch."

"EWWW!" the group said with disgusted expressions before clambering into the whale Digimon's mouth.

"Here we go!" Whamon swam out of the crescent-shaped island's vicinity before taking a sharp dive.

Eventually, after the dive, the group began to relax, knowing that they were safe from the Divermon and Metal Seadramon for the moment.

The group all sat around Izzy as he typed away on his laptop, which was connected to a few wires that Whamon had let loose.

"What are you doing, Izzy?" Sora asked.

"You'll find out in just a minute," the auburn-haired boy in, eyes locked on the screen in concentration.

"Oh come on!" Tai exclaimed. "Do you think I'm too brainless to understand?"

"Yes," Izzy joked. "But I'll tell you anyway. Check it out."

The group and their Digimon scrambled to get behind the young boy and take a look at what he was working on. What they was what looked like an ocean-themed screensaver.

"Cool screensaver, Izzy," Matt commented.

"Not exactly," the young genius explained, "I connected to Whamon's hard drive and rerouted his sensory information to go through my computer."

"Rerouted?" Patamon asked.

"He means that what we're seeing on the screen is what Whamon is looking at right now," Kagome clarified, getting odd looks from the rest of their friends. "What?"

"You actually understood that?" Sora blinked at the raven-haired girl.

"Yes and no," Kagome answered, getting confused looks from everyone now.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Joe asked.

"Well, despite Izzy's fancy speech,' Kagome explained, "I recognized the word 'sensory' and reroute. Sensory refers to the five senses, while rerouting is usually a word used with computers. I just pout the puzzle together from that."

"Very impressive," Izzy nodded with a grin.

"That's Kagome for ya," Tai shook his head, "Always surprising us with something new each time!"

Kagome gave a sheepish smile in response, to which everyone laughed. No one noticed the curious glance Matt gave Kagome when the laughter stopped.

"This really feels like we're in a submarine," T.K said, watching the screen of Izzy's laptop.

"You're right," Joe answered, though it's kinda making me a bit nauseous…"

"Oh this is absolutely exciting!" Mimi squealed, grabbing Palmon's hands and twirling the both of them around. "I've always wanted to go on a submarine!"

They all watched as Mimi twirled poor Palmon around giddily, not taking into account for how dizzy the plant Digimon was getting.

"I think she's been out at sea for too long…" Matt blinked.

Kagome gave a soft giggle at that, causing the blonde to smirk a little.

"Kari?" Kagome asked, watching her sister closely. "Are you okay?"

"It's my ears," Kari winced. "They hurt."

Tai turned to Mimi. "Hey Mimi, stop! Be quiet!" the brown-haired boy scolded.

Hearing that and Kari's comment, Mimi stopped twirling, causing Palmon to be thrown to the floor, swirls in her eyes due to being twirled around so much.

"You know what?" the caramel-haired girl asked. "My ears are starting to hurt a little, too."

One by one, each of the children and Digimon began to cover their ears because they seemed to be popping.

Whamon chuckled. "Sorry," he said apologetically, "I dove a little too fast. Here, I'll fix the pressure right now." A loud burp echoed around them as their ears began to stop hurting.

"That's better!" T.K grinned.

"A little odd," Izzy shook his head, "but it gets the job done. I guess that's one way to equalize the gas pressure."

"By the way," Kari called up, "You're excused!"

"Hey," Sora spoke up suddenly, "What's that sound?"

"It's getting louder," Tentomon commented.

Kagome felt a sort of pulse run through her, telling her to close her eyes and concentrate, making sure no one noticed she was doing so. She had a feeling that this might have been something that the dragon in her dream spoke of, did as she was told and closed her eyes, tuning out all conversation around her.

However, Kudamon had noticed his partner's actions, and watched them with narrowed eyes. _'Something's happened…I can feel it, but why didn't she tell anyone?'_

She felt one mildly malicious aura close to them with two others similar to that a little farther off headed their way with another aura that was drenched in evil, hate, and vanity.

"It's the Divermon," Kagome's eyes snapped open. "There's a Divermon close to us with the last three and MetalSeadramon coming our way!"

The group turned to look at Kagome in astonishment for the second time that day. "Kagome, how did you even know that?" Tai asked.

The raven-haired girl shook her head. "I'll explain everything later, but for now just call it intuition and trust me! We need to get out of here!"

The entire group, bar two, looked at each other hesitantly.

It was Kari and T.K who made their decision for them. They looked at the raven-haired girl and saw the truth in her pleading eyes. "Kagome's telling the truth," T.K declared. "We'd better listen and get out of here."

Kari nodded in agreement.

"Your friend is right," Whamon spoke. "While I can't say if she's right about the other Divermon and MetalSeadramon yet, I _can_ tell you that there is a Divermon nearby. You'll need to stay as quiet as you can until I tell you it's safe. But, I _will_ say this, where one Divermon goes, the rest follow with their boss."

And so the group went silent.

Izzy, who'd been keeping an eye on his computer screen, tapped a few keys before gasping. "Look out!" he shouted to Whamon.

"The Divermon are attacking!" the whale Digimon exclaimed. "Hang on everyone!"

Suddenly, Izzy's screen went white as foamy bubbles passed across the screen according to what Whamon was seeing.

By now, everyone was clutching their Digimon to them, frightened; or in Matt and Tai's case, their siblings as well.

"You're squeezing me too hard," Patamon looked up at T.K worriedly.

"Matt's squeezin' _me _too hard," the young blonde looked up at his brother.

"Sorry, but everyone's a little scared right now," Matt tightened his grip slightly. "See?" He nodded his head at Tai who was gripping his sisters close to him, the girls huddling close to their bother, Digimon clutched in their arms and Agumon next to them, offering silent comfort.

"Everything's going to be all right," Kagome said softly, rubbing her sister's hand.

"I promise I won't let anything happen to either of you," Tai told them. "It's not only my job as your older brother, but it's also because I promised Mom and Dad to take care of you two…"

Kari nodded and leaned her head on Tai's shoulder, eyes still filled with worry and fright.

"According to the audio sensors, there's three more right behind us!" Izzy exclaimed. He looked at Kagome pensively. "Just like Kagome said…"

"I hate this," Tai said frustrated. "I hate having to stay in here when we could out there fighting! Whamon, take us to the surface, it's time to show those bozos what we're made of!"

"Not just yet," Whamon told Tai, "I have a plan, and hopefully, it'll work."

"Hopefully?" Mimi parroted. "_Hopefully_? That's what the captain of the Titanic said before it sunk!"

_"Striking Fish!"_ the group heard from Izzy's computer.

"And what if your plan doesn't work?" Mimi asked, holding Palmon close. "What do we do then? Do you have a Plan B?"

"I still think we should turn around and fight," Tai shook his head. "But I trust you and I hope you know what you're doing, Whamon!"

The group huddled around Izzy and watched how Whamon dove into a narrow chasm and continued to swim down.

Suddenly, the sound of crushed metal filtered through the laptop's speakers.

"What the—Wha?" Joe sputtered, momentarily stopping his panic-driven frenzy.

"Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed. "They can't take the pressure down here like Whamon can! That was his plan all along!"

"Well, Whamon is built to handle pressure," Gomamon pointed out. "Unlike some people…" he added cheekily to his partner.

"Well, I'm sorry I'm not a whale!" Joe retorted good naturedly.

Everyone laughed at the remarks and relaxed a bit knowing that they were safe from the Divermon, for now.

"That was close," Tai released a breath.

"Yeah," Kagome nodded, "but what are we supposed to do now? It's not like we can stay down here at the bottom of the ocean and try to stop the Dark Masters from here!"

"I've got it!" Izzy stood up and walked over to Kari. "Kari, can I ask you to do something?"

The light brown-haired girl untangled herself from her siblings and made her way to Izzy, giving a nod in assent. The auburn-haired boy cupped his hands over the younger girl's ear and whispered loud enough for her to hear, but low enough that anything he said wouldn't get out to the others.

The group watched as kari's face went from curious to confused to interest. She looked at Izzy and nodded with a grin.

The younger girl walked over stand before everyone and gave a little bow. "Ready?"

"Go for it!" Izzy have the young girl a thumbs-up.

Kari then took a deep breath and blew into the silver whistle she had around her neck. The group watched in awe and worry as the girl continued to whistle for about a minute or so, her face becoming slightly flushed.

By the time she'd finished, the black screen that had been previously present on Izzy's laptop, due to the little skirmish with the Divermon, became flooded with the footage of what Whamon was seeing once again.

"Thanks, Kari!" Izzy called to the light-brown-haired girl.

"No problem," Kari smiled, taking a few breaths before walking back to the group.

"What was that about?" Sora asked.

"We used the whistle like sonar," Izzy explained, "the reverberations bouncing off of our surroundings allowed me to find a way out. And there just so happens to be a tunnel nearby that should lead us up to land."

"Cool!"

"Wow!"

"Thank goodness!"

"Isn't that great, Whamon?" Tai asked the whale Digimon.

"What?" Whamon asked.

"I said , 'Isn't that great, Whamon?'," Tai repeated patiently, but louder this time.

"I can't hear you," Whamon told them. "Someone was whistling in my ear."

Kagome and Kari looked at each other as they giggled.

"Oh!" the whale Digimon said excitedly. "There's a tunnel up ahead; it should lead us to land!"

The group looked at each other before bursting into laughter.

It wasn't long before the screen on Izzy's computer started showing little green lights flitting across the screen.

"Wow," the four girls of the group said, enchanted by the scene, "how pretty…"

"Hey, is that the cave?" Matt asked, pointing to a small darkened inlet.

"That's it!" Izzy nodded.

"Yay!" Mimi squealed. "Oh, I have to get changed!"

"Huh?" Palmon looked at her partner like she was crazy. "For what? I don't think you brought anymore clothes than what you're wearing, did you, Mimi?"

The caramel-haired girl stopped squealing and looked at her partner, unaware of the odd looks she was getting from her friends. "Hug!" she suddenly cried out, holding her arms out to Palmon.

Suddenly Kagome gasped, sitting up straight. "Kagome?" Tai asked, concerned. "What's wrong?"

"It's him, he's coming!" Kagome looked at her brother with wide eyes. "MetalSeadramon's coming!"

Although they all found it strange how Kagome could suddenly know all these things, they knew they shouldn't rule out, nor ignore, her prediction, given what had happened only a few moments earlier with the Divermon.

Suddenly, a great tremor knocked them all off their feet. "What the heck was that?" Matt asked, sitting up with T.K in his arms.

"It couldn't be the Divermon again, could it?" Gatomon asked. "I thought those fishheads couldn't come down here?"

"They're not," Whamon answered. "We must be careful, it's MetalSeadramon himself! Hold on!"

The group huddled into each other frightfully as the ground they knew was Whamon's body continued to shake and stir as the whale Digimon swam into the cave and wedged through the more narrow parts as fast as he could.

Soon after they'd gotten out of the cave, did Whamon surface, letting the children out of his body onto his back.

"Is everyone okay?" Tai asked. He looked up into the bright blue sky. "The sun's so bright…

"Where are we?" Izzy asked.

"Smell that fresh air…" Mimi took her hat off and basked in the breeze.

"I've been underwater for so long, I don't think I'll have to take a bath again!" Matt exclaimed.

"Please tell you won't really do that," Kagome sweat-dropped. She turned her head sharply to a specific point beyond where Whamon surfaced. "He's back…"

The group just laughed as they relished in the fact that they were now safe.

Or at least they thought they were until a familiar growl sounded. "Mind tellin' me what's so funny?" MetalSeadramon roared as he shot out of the ocean.

"It's MetalSeadramon!" Joe shouted, panicked.

"I knew it would only be matter of time before you came up for air," the metal-dragon spoke. "Now you're going down with the ship!"

"Hold on, everyone!" Whamon ordered. He began to swim around in wide circles, slow at first but quickly speeding up in no time. "Tidal Wave!" The force of the ripple-like waves pushed back the Divermon who'd been approaching from underwater.

"Should I—?" Agumon looked to his partner.

Tai nodded. "Do it!" he turned back to his friends and siblings. "While Agumon distracts them, we'll get to land and ready ourselves for battle!"

"Aye aye," Matt saluted with a smirk.

"Actually, that's a good idea," Joe said nervously, "You all can go on first while Gomamon and I bring up the rear."

"Joe!" Sora reprimanded. "Don' be such a coward!"

"Agumon!" Tai held out his digivice.

"You got it!" Agumon nodded. "Agumon Warp Digivolve to: WarGreymon!" WarGreymon launched himself off of Whamon with a little lift from the aquatic Digimon.

WarGreymon went at MetalSeadramon with his claws, but they did no more damage to the meta-dragon than a pillow would have.

"What was that?" MtealSeadramon mocked. "A love tap? I'm made of ChromeDigizoid, too you know! You won't be able to hurt me that easily!"

It was while the dragon-warrior Digimon was fighting MetalSeadramon that a fewl of the DigiDestined's rookie Digimon digivolved to Champion.

Joe, Palmon, and Mimi rode on Ikkakumon; Tai, Izzy, Gatomon, and Kari rode on Kabuterimon; Sora was latched onto Birdamon's leg; and Matt, T.K, Kagome, Patamon, and Kudamon rode on Garurumon's head, the two older children, keeping the youngest steady.

"Thanks for everything, Whamon," Tai called out the aquatic Digimon, "But you'd better get out of here and leave this to us!"

"What?" Whamon joked. "No tip?"

"Seriously," Matt added, "hurry up and get out of here! Your size makes you an easy target!"

"Are you calling me fat?" Whamon asked, momentarily forgetting the situation at hand. "I'm just big-boned." That said, he dove under the after once more when he noticed the children far enough away from him.

"Striking Fish!" the Divermon threw harpoons at Ikkakumon from underwater, but while they didn't harm the white-furred Digimon, they certainly freaked out his partner.

"Harpoon Torpedo!" Ikkakumon shot one missile into the air, where it suddenly burst into hundreds that rained down on the spot where the Divermon where.

"Ack! Aii! OW!" Joe danced around on Ikkakumon's head, trying to avoid getting hit with any of the steel arrows being hurled at he and his partner. "Ikkakumon! Digivolve!"

A light overtook Ikkakumon's form as he changed shape into his Ultimate form. "Ikkakumon Digivolve to: Zudomon!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!" Zudomon brought down his metal hammer, releasing an electrical current into the water, causing a geyser of water carrying the dazed Divermon to shoot up from the ocean.

"River of Power!" MetalSeadramon shot his aqua-hued laser around, trying in vain to hit WarGreymon. He stopped when he could no longer spot the dragon-warrior Digimon, but looked up when he heard a voice from above.

"Mega Cl—" WarGreymon made a beeline for MetalSeadramon, only to be caught within the metal-dragon's jaws before he could attack.

"I've got you know!" MetaSeadramon cackled as he went underwater with WarGreymon in his mouth, trying to push himself out.

"WarGreymon!" Tai shouted.

"This is really bad!" Izzy exclaimed. "WarGreymon's at a huge disadvantage in water than when he's not!"

"Go, Zudomon!" Joe ordered.

"Vulcan's Hammer!" Zudomon brought down his hammer once more, the electrical current spreading wider this time, causing MetalSeadramon to surface in order to avoid being electrocuted.

"Oh boy," Joe wiped some water off of his face. "Is everyone okay?" he asked when everyone but Kabuterimon and his passengers arrived safely on land.

"WarGreymon!" Kari shouted worriedly.

_'No…'_ Kagome watched with worried eyes.

"I'm getting tired of play around with you, WarGreymon!" MetalSeadramon said as the dragon-warrior Digimon tried freeing himself from the other Mega Digimon's jaws. "Say goodbye, WarGreymon!"

But before MetalSeadramon could exert anymore force onto the smaller Digimon within his mouth, Whamon leapt out of the ocean and rammed into the Mega Digimon, giving WarGreymon the chance he needed to escape.

"River of Power!" MetalSeadramon quickly recovered from the unexpected ambush and shot his aqua-hued laser at Whamon, piercing a hole straight from one side through to the other of Whamon's head.

"Whamon!" Kari shouted.

"River of Power!" MetalSeadramon aimed, this time, for WarGreymon, who he spotted a few metres away.

"Brave Tornado!" WarGreymon spun around rapidly, cutting through the aqua laser and through MetalSeadramon's body.

"Hmph," WarGreymon snorted. "Guess your ChromeDigizoid armor wasn't all it was cracked up to be."

"Seriously," Kabuterimon added. "Next time you want to take over the ocean, do us all a favour and take a bubble bath!"

"We won!" Tai and the other atop Kabuterimon cheered while the children and Digimon on the beach celebrated as well, at least all but Kagome and Kudamon.

"Kagome?" Sora asked gently, putting a hand on the raven-haired girl's shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

"Whamon doesn't look too good," Kagome said softly with glassy eyes.

It was soon after Kabuterimon and his passengers landed did they make their way over to the weak Whamon floating in the ocean.

"Whamon…" Tai whispered.

"DigiDestined," the dying Digimon wheezed out, "I'm glad to have met you…please…save…this…world…" By his last word, Whamon's voice had gone hoarse as his image became transparent, eventually dissolving into tiny particles that disappeared with the wind.

"No Whamon!"

"Don't go!"

"NO!"

And thus ended the life of another good friend who sacrificed himself to help the DigiDestined.

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	10. Book One: Playing Games to Grow

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!**

AN: Not as long as the previous chapter, but that one had two full episodes and a portion of a third, whereas this one only has to do with only one chapter.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-Playing Games to Grow-Xx**

The DigiDestined and their Digimon stood with tearful eyes, watching Whamon's remains blow away on the wind.

"Where's he goin'?" T.K asked.

Kagome said nothing as she pulled Kari and T.K close to her, offering at least a little comfort for the friend she'd only known briefly.

"Hey!" Izzy exlciamed. "Look at MetalSeadramon!"

The group looked over to the unmoving body of the metal-dragon and watched as it, much like Whamon's body, dissolved into particles that traveled on the wind in the same direction Whamon's remains had gone.

"But where're they going?" Sora asked.

"Spiral Mountain's peak," Tentomon replied, looking in the exact direction of said structure.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, causing everyone to shout in surprise.

"What's going on?"

"Why's this happening?"

"Could it be another of the Dark Masters?"

"That's the real reason for all the shaking!" Tai pointed to Spiral Mountain. "Look!"

The group turned their gazes to the tall structure and watched as the blue strip of the Net Ocean began to disappear, leaving a black gap behind.

"The ocean!" Joe blinked in disbelief. "It's disappearing!" _'And I said that nothin here surprises me anymore…'_

"But why's it disappearing?" Mimi asked.

"The Digital World is reconfiguring the Net Ocean since we kicked its Dark Master's booty!" Gomamon replied cheerfully, momentarily forgetting their sorrow over losing their friend.

"Fascinating," Izzy breathed, taking the in the change with a curious gaze. "I wonder, though, does this affect us?"

"'Course this does," Tai nodded. "Come on; if we want to get some surfing in, we'd better get going!"

"Wait!" Mimi called out. "We're not finished yet!"

"Huh?" the brown-haired preteen turned to the caramel-haired girl as saw that she, Kagome, Kari, and T.K, with their Digimon's help, were make perfect domes of sand topped with a wooden cross on each.

"Mimi what are you doing?" Tai asked.

"In case you haven't noticed," Matt defended the small group, "Some of our friends are gone."

"Oh," Tai's eyes widened, "Sorry…"

Mimi then pointed to each mound, stating who each was for. "That one is for Wizardmon, and the one next to it is for Piximon. The one over there is for Chuumon and the one next to that is for Sukamon. And this one here is for Whamon."

_'She might act like an airhead sometimes,'_ Kagome watched Mimi with sad eyes, _'but she's really quite sensitive and I don't think anyone really realizes that…'_

"Mimi," Sora placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, "You know they're not really gone, right? It's like they've been downloaded onto another computer."

"That's right," Gatomon answered. "We're Digimon, so we really can't die. When our time in our present life is over, we become data that's reconfigured to start over again."

"What better reason do we need to get the Dark Masters?" Tai asked heatedly. "We need to avenge the friends we lost!"

_'Tai…'_ Kagome shook her head. _'Your minds set on the right goal, but you don't seem to be using your heart to understand…'_

"I'm not going," Mimi answered.

"What do you mean by that?" Tai asked.

"I have had enough!" Mimi began sobbing. "Everyonetime we fight, we end up losing another friend!"

Kagome knelt down beside the distraught girl and pulled her into her arms.

"But that's war, Mimi," Tai tried reasoning with the sad girl, "And as much as we don't want it to happen, sometimes people we care about get hurt and there's nothing we can do about it. So you just need to learn how to deal with it!"

Mimi only sobbed wept harder into the raven-haired girl. "Tai," Kagome said quietly to her brother, "That's enough."

"But Kagome—" the brown-haired preteen looked at his sister.

"But nothing," Kagome said with firmly. "We know that we need to defeat the Dark Masters, but you also know how important it is to value your friends. The Tai I know would stop to at least give everyone, including himself, time to grieve over the friends we've lost. But the Tai standing in front of me right now is someone I don't think I know, or want to, for that matter."

"Kagome's right," Matt spoke up. "Why can't you stop and think about other people's feelings for a change?"

"What?" Tai said indignantly.

"We miss the friends that fought with us, can't you understand that?" Matt said. "Not everyone has ice running through their veins like you do!"

"Please calm down, Matt," T.K walked up to his brother, Patamon sitting on his head.

"You're always so busy looking forward that you never take the time to look back," the blonde continued as though he hadn't heard his brother, "We've lost some really good friends here, Tai, and it's nice to just take some time to remember them once in a while."

While everyone understood what Matt was trying to say, Tai, it seemed, didn't exactly understand it. "Do you even know what you're saying? If we always keep stopping to do that then we'll never be able to save both worlds in time!"

"There you go again," Matt said frustrated. "You're hearing me, but you're not listening!"

"Stop it you guys!" Sora tried diffusing the situation. "You're just making everyone even more upset! You're supposed to be friends, remember?"

"Don't cry, Mimi…" Palmon rubbed her partner's back.

Kagome rocked back and forth lightly, humming a soothing tune in her friend's hear, trying to help calm the girl down.

"Um, I don't mean to butt in or anything," Joe inputted, "But we're kinda sitting ducks out here; so why don't we move somewhere a little less out in the open?"

The group looked up at the eldest of the group and nodded in agreement, taking to the forest a few metres away.

_'I'm not as cold as Mat thinks I am, am I?'_ Tai wondered. _'And did Kagome really mean what she said about me? I've never heard her talk to anyone like that…'_

_'I might have been a little harsh on Tai,'_ Matt thought, hands in his pockets, _'But he's got to learn to respect how we feel!'_

_'I've never seen Matt that mad before…'_ T.K looked worriedly at his brother.

_'I just know they're thinking about me,'_ Joe thought nervously, _'why else would no one be talking?'_

_'We should be concentrating on finding our enemies,'_ Izzy thought sadly, _'not on each other…'_

_'Everyone's so tired and cranky,'_ Sora sighed inaudibly, _'that they're just acting on it however they can…'_

"Hey, Kagome?" Mimi whispered, careful not to break the awkward silence that had befallen them. "Thanks."

Kagome looked over at the caramel-haired girl and gave a soft smile and nod in response. Suddenly, unseen by anyone but Kari, the raven-haired girl stopped.

"Kagome?" Kari asked quietly. "Is some—" she looked around confusedly. "Did you hear that?"

"I didn't hear anything," Kagome shook her head. "But I felt something…" she glanced at her partner. "You might want to hide, Kudamon."

The fox-like Digimon nodded and once again assumed the disguise of Kagome's scarf.

"What's wrong?" Gatomon asked, running up to the siblings?"

"Did you hear something?" Kari asked her partner.

"What you mean like a voice or something?" the feline Digimon looked at her partner in confusion.

"So you didn't hear it?" Kari asked.

Gatomon shook her head and pointed back to the group who'd stopped a few metres away. "C'mon, we'd better get back to the group, there's safety in numbers."

Kari and Kagome nodded, running back to the group, hands clasped together.

"What were you two doing?" Tai asked harshly.

"We thought we heard something, Tai," Kagome glared at her brother. "Don't go and start," she said when Tai opened his mouth, "or I'll smack you upside the head, and you know I'll do it."

Tai's mouth snapped shut, his eyes confilicted. "Just…stay with the group, okay? We don't know what we could be getting into, so it's best to stay together."

The girls just nodded in acceptance, not letting go of each other's.

_'Something's not right about this place,'_ Kagome glanced around discreetly. _'This entire place is drenched in a very nasty aura…'_

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the trees started rushing by them at a rapid speed. "What's going on?" Kari asked. "Why're the trees moving so fast?"

Kagome looked down at the ground and saw that the section she and the rest of the group stood on was accelerating, not the trees. "It's not the trees that are moving faster, it's us!"

Izzy nodded. "The ground we're standing on is accelerating!"

"We've got to jump off!" Tai shouted, pointing to one of the platforms that wasn't moving. "On the count of three!"

"One…"

"…Two…"

…THREE!"

The group of children and Digimon jumped off the speeding routed and onto the platform on the left that hadn't been moving. Unfortunately for them, the platform they landed on began moving as fast as the previous moving route the moment they set foot on it.

"Now this one's moving!" Sora exclaimed. "Someone looks like they want to take us somewhere, and fast, too!"

"But why do I get the feeling that that someone's not too friendly?" Matt added.

T.K gave a shout when he stumbled from the sheer speed the platform was going, grabbing onto his brother in the end for stability.

"This is the first time I've ever felt carsick without the car!" Joe said, face a little pale.

"Guys!" Tai called everyone to attention. "I've got an idea, but we have to be really quick about it!"

The group turned to Tai and looked at him expectantly.

"When I give the signal, grab onto the tree branches," Tai told them. "The ground's not safe if it keep moving like that, so our best bet is to stay above ground."

The DigiDestined and their partners nodded as they turned to the trees, waiting for Tai's signal.

"NOW!" the brown-haired preteen shouted.

And with that said, the group jumped and latched onto the low hanging branches before slowly climbing up to higher ones, just in case.

"I have a hunch that one of the Dark Masters is behind this," Sora told everyone.

"You don't have to guess," Kagome shook her head. "It _is_ one of the Dark Masters, except I can't tell which one it is…"

The group turned to Kagome and looked at her. "That's right," Mimi said, remembering, "you said you'd tell us how you knew about the Divermon and MetalSeadramon!"

"How did you know, anyway?" Matt asked.

"Well, it happened when were knocked unconscious in that shack by Scorpiomon," Kagome began, "I had a really weird dream with a dragon."

"A dragon?" Izzy asked skeptically.

Kagome nodded and continued with her story of what the dragon said, hoe she thought he might have been Oryu, and of the gift he'd given her. She told them how until she sensed the Divermon and MetalSeadramon, she never had a clue about what the gift was. And even when she'd used it, she'd only felt something inside of her telling her what to do.

"Whoa…" the group said in awe.

"I don't know about you guys," Sora spoke up, looking into Kagome's truthful eyes, "But I believe her."

"Okay, so now that that's out of the way," Joe said anxiously, hugging a the trunk of the tree he was in. "Can we get back to the matter at hand? I say we keep going or build a nest!"

"Well I say we'll have to fight whoever it is sooner or later, so let's get to it!" Tai said determinedly.

"Not again with the fighting," Matt said annoyed. "Can't you just go to a neutral corner or something?"

_'Here we go again…'_ Kagome looked back and forth between the two boys.

"Okay why don't we try it your way?" Tai asked rhetorically. "We'll just stay up here and wait for the enemy to come for us!"

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Matt all but shouted at the brown-haired preteen.

Suddenly without any warning, Tai disappeared.

"What the—"

"What happened to Tai?"

"He just vanished into thin air!"

"Hey Mimi's gone, too!" Kagome said worriedly.

"Oh no!"

"Mimi, come back!"

One by one, each of the Digimon's human partners disappeared until there was only matt, Kagome, and T.K left with the rest of the Digimon.

"We're all that's left!" T.K exclaimed.

"I guess this is the end…" Matt said morosely.

"Don't talk like that," Kagome scolded the blonde preteen. "You'll jinx us!"

"But now what're we gonna do?" T.K asked. "We're separated from everyone else!"

"We don't need anyone else, especially Tai," Matt told his brother. He, then, turned to Kagome and tried apologizing. "Uh, sorry, no offense or any—"

"It's okay," Kagome told him, "I know what you meant. And in all honesty, Tai isn't what you think he is. When his mind is set on the goal, sometimes his brain moves too fast for his heart to catch up."

"What does that mean?" Patamon asked.

"I mean that despite how Tai doesn't seem to care about how others feel," Kagome explained, "he only does what he does because he cares, but he doesn't know how to show it so much."

"You know a lot about Tai," T.K commented.

"She's his sister, T.K," Matt told his brother, "siblings usually know each other the best."

"They do and sometimes their opinions are a bit biased because they know each other so well," Kagome nodded. "But in my case it's a little different."

"How?" Koromon asked.

"Tai's not my real brother," Kagome told them quietly. "Mama and Papa took me in when my parents died, but no one, not even Tai ever let me think that. Everyone, especially Tai, always made sure that I knew I was a part of the family and not just an outsider."

Everyone was quiet for a while.

"Well, I guess then we'll just have to stick together," Matt declared. "Until we find the others, that is."

"Does that mean you're planning on leaving?" Biyomon asked.

Mat opened his mouth to answer, but T.K cut him off. "Listen, Matt, you're my big brother and I love you. But the only reason we got this far was because we worked as a team. Each one of us played a part in keeping us together along the way, including Tai. I know you're trying to be a good brother, but you don't have to protect me all the time; if you haven't noticed, I've fought with everyone and held my own from the very beginning. I know I'm still a little kid, but I think I've grown a lot since we came here."

"But I—" Matt tried saying, but cut himself off when he couldn't find it in him to finish his sentence. _'I'm only trying to protect my brother, but I'm pushing everyone away…'_

"Wise words from someone so young," Kagome complimented T.K, to which the young boy just grinned. _'Poor Matt, he only wants to protect his brother because he thinks it's the only thing keeps him with us. But he's got to learn that T.K is beginning to grow up, and that taking care of his brother isn't his only duty…'_

Suddenly, just like before, without warning Kagome disappeared with Kudamon around her neck.

"Kagome!" T.K and Matt shouted.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Kagome?" Tai asked, helping his sister up. "What's going on here?"

"I don't know," Kagome shook her head. "One minute I'm with Matt and T.K and the next, I'm here with you!"

Just then Kagome felt a strange prickling sensation overtake her body. "Oh no, not again!"

"Kagome!" the brown-haired preteen shouted. "Oh, when I get my hands on whoever's doing this, they'll wish they never touched my sisters!"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Whoa!" Kagome shouted as she fell from the sky, only to land in Joe's arms, causing them both to fall to the ground.

"You okay?" Joe asked dazedly.

Kagome nodded. "You?"

"I'll live," Joe said before shouting as he was once again teleported, only to be replaced with T.K.

"T.K!" Kagome said with relief.

"Kagome!" T.K rushed over to her and hugged her around her knees. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay," Kagome sighed in relief. "What happened to you?"

"I ended up with Joe first and then Sora before I came to you," the small boy replied.

"T.K!" came Matt's voice.

The duo turned around to find that Matt had landed behind them and now was running up to his younger brother, kneeling to take him into his embrace.

"I'm so glad you're safe," Matt whispered. He pulled back to check his brother over for any sign of injury. "You _are_ okay, right? Nothing happened to you?"

"Well, there was that time where I started laughin' for no reason, but I think that's it," T.K answered. "I wonder if there something' wrong with me…"

"Are you sure you're—" Matt tried again, only to be shot down by his young brother.

"Hey, I told you to stop worrying so much about me!" the young blonde told his older brother. "I can take care of myself, too, ya know!"

"T.K, it's not that Matt doesn't think you can take care of yourself," Kagome said gently, "it's because he's your older brother that he worries for you. I know Kari can take care of herself, but I still worry about her."

T.K looked up to Kagome and took in her words. _'I guess she's right; I know Matt's only like this 'cause he's really just worried about everyone…'_ he turned back to his brother to apologize, when a squeaky voice stopped them all in their tracks.

"Oh, T.K!" the voice echoed around the trio. "It's time to pway!"

"Stay close, T.K," Matt told his brother softly.

"Time to pway!" the voice spoke again, only louder.

"He's getting closer," Kagome said with narrowed eyes. "I can't tell where he is, but he's close."

The two older children turned when they heard T.K yelp in surprise. They found the small boy tripping backwards from Puppetmon, who looked as though he were apologetic about scaring the young boy.

"Keep your hands off my brother, Puppetmon," Matt warned, standing in front of T.K, who was being held close by Kagome, "I'll chop you into firewood!"

Kagome closed her eyes briefly, getting a feel for Puppetmon's aura, when she found that it was exactly the same as the aura she'd felt around the entire forest area. _'Well, that explains who the aura belonged to, but why does Puppetmon's signature stick to the forest? It shouldn't unless it's somehow a part of him…'_

"Oh, but I just wanted to pway a wittwe game of waw with T.K!" Puppetmon pouted.

_'Yeah right, a game to take our lives!'_ Kagome snorted, her eyes narrowed dangerously at Puppetmon.

"Play?" T.K stepped out from Kagome's arms, despite her sound of warning. "You mean like pretend?"

"But of couwse!" Puppetmon laughed. "At weast in the beginning anyway, but in the end it'll be time for bye-bye and I'ww destwoy you fow weal!"

"He's not going with you!" Kagome told Puppetmon, bringing T.K back behind her as she stood next to Matt.

"Don't listen to him," Matt told his brother. "He's just trying to scare you!"

"Don't wie ow youw noses'ww gwow!" Puppetmon threw what looked like two red rubber ball at Matt and Kagome. The balls exploded on the preteens upon impact and wrapped around their bodies and mouth like a tight bandage wrapping, pulling them together.

Unseen by each other and despite the situation at hand, the two blushed under their bindings at how close they were pressed against each other.

"Now come with me ow I'ww destwoy youw bwothew and sistew wight now!" Puppetmon threatened.

Not wanting his brother and friend to get hurt, T.K just nodded resignedly, not bothering to correct Puppetmon's assumptions. "I pwomise we'ww have wots of fun!" Puppetmon cackled, walking away with T.K following close behind.

Kagome and T.K shouted out to the young boy, but to no avail as their shouts were muffled.

When Puppetmon and T.K were out of sight, the two preteens struggled to get free of their bindings, but the substance was too strong. Seeing as squirming around didn't work, the two tried yelling as loud as they could through the substance over their mouths, but once again, to no avail as the sounds were muffled.

After what seemed like nearly an hour, the two heard a familiar voice. "Celestial Denotation!" several gold-hued symbols stuck onto the red substance, glowing of one, two moments before the substance and the symbols dissolved.

"What the—how?" Matt said, helping Kagome up.

"Kudamon!" Kagome shouted, allowing the fox-like Digimon to rest around her neck once again. "Did you set us free?"

Kudamon nodded. "I'm just sorry I couldn't get to you sooner. I traveled with you as far as Tai, but then I was unable to go any farther, so I had to search you out."

"It's okay," Matt smiled lightly at the small Digimon. "Thanks, though, for letting us go."

"It was my pleasure," Kudamon nodded from around Kagome's neck.

It was then that the human duo remembered the reason they were bound together in the first place. "T.K!" they looked at each other, panicked.

"Can you find him?" Matt asked the raven-haired girl.

"If I could I would," Kagome shook her head. "But this entire place is covered in Puppetmon's aura, so I can't even find him. It's like this entire place is a part of him or something." She turned to her Digimon. "Kudamon, did you see T.K or Puppetmon on your way here?"

Kudamon shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not."

"Then we have to go and find him!" Matt exclaimed, getting ready to walk off in some random direction.

"Wait—!" Kagome tried stopping the blonde, but before she could say anymore, the ground beneath then began moving once more. The sudden start of the ramp threw the two off guard, causing them to fall into each other.

They tried getting up, but it was no use; they just continued to fall back into each other and so after the third attempt, they just stayed as they were, blushing all the while until the ramp stopped.

"What's going on around here?!" Joe asked anxiously as their Digimon all came to meet them.

"I don't know, but I have a feeling it's not good," Tai muttered right before catching sight of the position Matt and Kagome were in. "What the—get away from her!"

Kagome and Matt jumped apart, faces red. Tai stomped over to them and placed Kagome behind him, going into 'over-protective-brother mode'.

"What was that?" Tai asked Matt.

"No time," the blonde shook his head, trying to get rid of the red flush on his cheeks but only succeeding in lightening it to a pale-pink, "T.K's been taken by Puppetmon!"

"Puppetmon?" Sora gasped.

"He blackmailed T.K into going with him so he wouldn't hurt Matt and I," Kagome sighed.

"Where'd that creepy toothpick take him?" Tai asked.

"I don't know!" Matt said, nearing hysteria.

"Get a hold of yourself!" Kagome put her hands on Matt's shoulders and jostled him a bit. "If you want to save T.K, then calm down and try to think rationally!"

"It shouldn't be too hard to find him," Izzy thought out loud. "That first ramp we were on earlier must have lead to his hideout."

"But wouldn't we be walking into a trap?" Mimi asked.

"It's worth it to save T.K, though," Koromon nodded.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I can't allow that," a voice stated, "You would be intruding on Master Puppetmon's playtime."

The group turned to the source of the new voice to find a brown bird with no wings and a white mask with green leafy-feathers sticking out from beneath the back of the mask.

"Who the heck are you?" Tai asked.

"Oh no!" Tentomon cried out. **"That's Kiwimon! An ancient Digimon that was said to be extinct! And even though he's a bird-type Digimon, his wings have degenerated so he can't fly."**

"Where're you keeping T.K!" Matt demanded.

But Kiwimon didn't say a word; instead he opened his beak and began shooting tiny versions of himself out at them. "Pummel Peck!"

Koromon quickly digivolved into Agumon and joined in on the fray, throwing the first attack at the ChibiKiwimon launched their way. "Pepper Breath!"

"How about some Spiral Twister!"

"Super Shocker!"

"Glorious Whirlwind!"

Once the ChibiKiwimon had all been obliterated, Joe suddenly fell down, face-first.

"You okay, Joe?" Gomamon asked.

"Why do these things always happen to me?" the blue-haired boy asked.

"Come on," Kagome said, helping the older boy up, "Up you get."

"Where are you keeping T.K!" Matt demanded.

"Matt, I understand how you feel," Tai tried reasoning with the blonde, "but first we need to defeat Kiwimon!"

"How can you possibly understand how I feel?" Matt scoffed.

"I understand that if we don't defeat him, we'll never get T.K back," Tai snapped. "I know that if it were Kagome or Kari that was taken, I'd be on a rampage by now!"

"No! First we find T.K and then we'll fight your war!" Matt yelled at Tai. He turned to Gabumon and nodded.

The white and blue Digimon looked hesitant for a moment, but in the end decided to as his partner wanted. "Gabumon Warp Digivolve to—Wait, why aren't I digivolving?"

"They're not glowing," Matt looked at his crest and digivice, frightened at what this could mean. "Why aren't they glowing?"

"What's going on, Matt?" Gabumon asked.

_'You have the Crest of Friendship,'_ Kagome thought sadly, _'But right now, you're pushing your friends away to work on your own. That's why it's not working…unless you learn about the power of your crest, it won't glow and Gabumon won't digivolve…'_

Suddenly a flash of MetalGarurumon and WarGreymon on opposite sides, both in battle positions ran through Kagome's mind briefly before disappearing as quickly as it came.

_'What was that?'_ The raven-haired girl wondered. _'Could it be part of the gift Oryu gave me?'_

Seeing that his opponents were distracted, Kiwimon took this time to attack again. "Pummel Peck!"

Unfortunately, by the time the group saw the attack coming for them, it was already too late to counter it. Right now all that could be done was to watch in horror as the ChibiKiwimon came closer and closer to them.

Suddenly, Biyomon rose into the air. "Biyomon Digivolve to: Birdramon!"

The giant firebird lifted a wing to envelop the DigiDestined and the partners, cancelling out the attack when the ChibiKiwimon made impact with her wing.

Birdramon flew into the air and released two large bursts of fire at the wingless Digimon, causing him to dissipate into particles, the attack getting the best of him.

"Thanks, Biyomon!" Sora told her Digimon after it de-digivolved.

"Sora, do you know what you Digimon just did?"! Matt shouted at the orange-haired girl. "Kiwimon was the only one who knew where T.K was and now we'll never find him!"

"Knock it off Matt!" Tai shouted, shoving his way between his friends. "Calm—"

"Hey!" came a familiar voice. "I'm back!"

"It's T.K!" Mimi said happily, watching the young boy come running to the waving with a smile on his face, Patamon flying right beside him.

"See I told you I could take care of myself, no problem!" T.K grinned.

"No kidding!" Tai gave the small blonde a thumbs-up. "Good job, buddy!"

"You're the man!" Kari told the young blonde.

"You know," Joe said, impressed, "For a kid, that was a pretty big escape!"

_'He—He really doesn't need me anymore…'_ Mat thought in disbelief.

No one, but one, noticed how Matt had been acting throughout the exchange. Kagome watched Matt with sad eyes as the blonde's face shifted from happiness and relief to depression and shock.

_'He understands that T.K is growing up,'_ Kagome thought, _'But I don't think he sees the whole picture…'_

She watched as he disappeared in the foliage, Gabumon trailing behind. Kagome knew that Joe had seen them and that she should say something, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Matt needed this time to come to terms with whatever was running through his mind and if they ever hoped to save both worlds from destruction, they all needed to work together; something that couldn't be achieved without Matt.

Kagome thought back to the image she'd seen earlier of WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. She didn't know what was going to happen, but she felt that it was going to be good. _'And I hope for everyone's sake that this doesn't tear us apart...'_

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	11. Book One: The Foreseen Challenge

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

AN: This is pretty long, I think, but I hope I did at least an okay job on it…

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-The Foreseen Challenge-Xx**

The DigiDestined were still in Puppetmon's forest, calling out for Matt and Gabumon.

"Where could they be?" Sora asked.

"Matt's a big boy," Tai said stubbornly, "He can take care of himself."

"But what if he was taken by Puppetmon as revenge for T.K escaping?" Mimi suggested worriedly.

"It's certainly possible," Izzy nodded. "Or it could've been someone worse…"

Joe sighed before speaking up. "That's not what happened," he said quietly. "Matt and Gabumon left on their own."

"What?" Tai all but shouted. "And you didn't say anything or try to stop him?"

"I just thought that he had to go to the washroom or something," Joe said honestly. "If I knew what he was planning, then I would've tried to stop them."

Tai stopped yelling when he saw the sincere look in Joe's eyes. "But why would he just leave? It's one thing if he was kidnapped, but now it's a whole other matter!"

"Haven't you noticed?" Sora pointed out. "Matt hasn't been acting right for a while now. And now his Digivive and crest aren't glowing; he must've been shocked."

"I agree," Izzy nodded, "He's been a bit high-strung lately."

Suddenly Kagome and Kari gasped, the latter looking up to the sky. "Is everything okay, Kari?" Tai asked.

"I thought I heard someone talking to me," Kari looked around for the voice no one but her seemed to hear.

"Was it Matt?" Tai asked, looking around, listening for any sign of the blonde boy.

"You know," Izzy spoke up, "He couldn't have gotten too far away you know. We should go looking for him."

The group agreed and began walking in a random direction, calling out for Matt and Gabumon all the while, not noticing that Kari, Gatomon, Kagome, and Kudamon hadn't joined them.

"It wasn't Matt's voice I heard, Gatomon," Kari told her Digimon.

"Then whose was it?" the feline Digimon asked.

"Probably the same one I've been feeling around us," Kagome answered. "I don't know who or what it is, but there's definitely someone out there…"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"It's no use," Izzy shook his head. "I can't get anything on the digivice. For some reason, they don't seem to be working well this forest."

"Maybe we shouldn't be trying to find him," Gatomon spoke up. "Everyone needs to be alone sometimes, I should know."

"I'm not just going to sit around and let Matt break up this team," Tai said vehemently. "We're gonna find him whether he wants us to or not!"

It was now that Kagome decided to speak up. "Tai?"

"Yeah?" he looked at his sister.

"Can I talk to you for a bit?" Kagome, gestured for him to join her at the back of the group.

"Yeah, okay," Tai nodded, leaving the front of their party to join his sister at the back, a little farther from the group so they couldn't overhear anything, but close enough to stay together. Agumon followed behind his partner to walk beside him. "What'd you want to talk about?"

"What do you think is wrong with Matt?" Kagome asked calmly.

Tai recognized the tone of voice she was using. The raven-haired girl had used it many times in the past to help him or Kari understand something they didn't grasp at first. "Well, I just think that he hasn't been thinking about everything that's at stake. I know I probably sound controlling or something, but I'm only doing this so we can save everyone we love and care about."

"Why do you think Matt was reacting the way he did when T.K was taken?" Kagome inquired.

"Because he's his little brother," Tai answered easily.

"Why couldn't Gabumon digivolve?" his sister asked.

"Because he was pushing too hard to find T.K?" Tai said, unsure.

"And why do you think Matt left?" the raven-haired girl questioned.

"He probably just wanted to go off on his own so we'd stop fighting and upsetting T.K," the brown-haired preteen answered hesitantly. To tell the truth, he didn't know why the blonde had left, but he'd only taken a stab at guessing why.

Kagome mulled over Tai's answers for a moment before nodding. "Okay, now do you want me to tell you what I think happened?"

Tai just nodded silently, knowing that at this point, she would run through the questions again and answer them herself; it was all a part of the way she helped others to understand what was going on.

"'What was wrong with Matt'?" Kagome quoted herself. "I think the weight of everything we've been through finally crashed down on him. Everyone has a breaking point and you've all probably see countless friends leave to help you; Whamon's sacrifice was the trigger that probably made him snap. He knows what our mission is and what is at stake, but like I said, a person can only handle so much before they break."

"'Why did Matt react the way he did when T.K was taken'?" Kagome asked. "Yes, Matt only acted the way he did because T.K is his younger brother and he felt that it was his duty to protect him. But it was only because he felt that protecting T.K was his only purpose in our group."

"'Why couldn't Gabumon digivolve'?" Kagome quoted herself. "Gabumon's digivolutions, like all of our Digimon's are tied to the traits our crests represent in us. Matt's crest if the Crest of Friendship, but lately all the both of you have been doing is fighting, not being friends. Gabumon's digivolutions are tied to the friendship he has for Matt and that Matt has for us. But because he was so worried and angry about T.K being gone, he wasn't thinking about that, hence the failed digivolution."

"And finally, 'Why did Matt leave'?" Kagome sighed. "Like I said, Matt thought his only purpose in our group was to protect T.K. But earlier when everyone was being switched around, T.K told Matt that he was growing up and he didn't need Matt to hover around him so much anymore. Matt probably felt a little shocked that it was the little brother he loved that told him that he didn't need to be protected anymore. And when T.K escaped from Puppetmon, Matt finally realized that T.K was right; he was growing up and didn't need Matt so much anymore. Matt left because he needed to sort everything out in his head, to make sense of what was going on, to find his purpose."

"But that's a stupid reason to just go off!" Tai exclaimed.

The rest of the group looked at him in curiosity while Kagome threw her older brother a glare. Tai just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Okay, let's put it in a different way," Kagome released a breath. "Say that Kari or I were with you and the other when you first came to the Digital World. What would be your first priority?"

"Keeping you or Kari safe," Tai answered automatically.

"When Matt came here first, what was his first priority?" Kagome asked.

"To protect T.K," Tai replied.

Kagome nodded. "Now, say that one day Kari or I tell you that we don't need you to protect us anymore, that we can take care of ourselves. How would you feel?"

"I would—" Tai cut himself off when he realized just what Kagome as getting at. _'I'd react the way Matt did…'_ She knew him well enough to know that had something like that ever happened, he would've reacted more or less the same way Matt did. _'Maybe with a little less of the drama, though…'_ Tai added silently.

"Do you get it now?" Kagome asked slowly.

Tai sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I get it."

"You sure know a lot, Kagome," Agumon commented.

"Not really," Kagome shrugged. "I only know what I see, that's all."

"Yoo-hoo!" a familiar squeaky voice called out to the group

"Puppetmon!" Sora gasped, seeing the Dark Master sitting atop a really tall tree.

"Hi!" the marionette Digimon greeted. "Did ya miss me, T.K?"

"Not at all!" the young boy retorted. "And I'm not going to play with you anymore, either!"

"You'we not?" Puppetmon asked with mock-sadness. "Weww you wewn't vew fun anyway! Come on out, fwont and centew!"

"Yes, Sir!" one pink Digimon in a trashcan said, zipping out from behind a tree.

"Yes, Sir," another of the same Digimon replied, zooming out from behind the same tree to stand next to the first.

"Yes, Sir!" a third Digimon of the same kind the first two were zoomed out from behind the same tree and stood next to the first two.

"Oh no!" Palmon's face turned a sickly shade of green. **"Those are Garbagemon! They're as tough as they are mean; and they don't smell too good, either…"**

"Junk Chuckers at the ready!" Garbagemon #1 said, taking aim at the DigiDestined with the red and white-striped bazookas. "Ready, aim, FIRE!"

Small projectiles of pink goop were shot at the group, who knew exactly what it was and made a run for it, not wanting to be caught by any of the tiny mounds.

"What the—Mimi!" Kagome shouted when she looked behind her to see Mimi just standing there with hooded eyes. "Get away!"

"No!" Mimi shouted, catching one of the small pink masses in her hand. "I've had _enough_ of running! Let's let _them_ do the running for a change!" She chucked the piece of goop in her hand back at the Garbagemon, who, along with Puppetmon, were looking at the girl astonished and confused.

"Mimi, this isn't the time!" Kagome ran back to the girl in pink and dragged her away. "We should be running!"

"Oh right!" the caramel-haired girl said absently. "Oh! I can't believe I actually _touched_ those things!" The two girls ran as fast as they could to catch up with the rest of their group.

"Don't you know that running is pointless?" Garbagemon #2 asked rhetorically.

"Where ever you go, there will always be garbage!" Garbagemon #3 laughed.

"Quick, hide!" Tai told the group as they ran into the foliage around a large clearing.

The three Garbagemon stopped in the centre of the clearing and smirked. "Tri-Formation!" the first Garbagemon barked.

"You got it!" the other two replied as they formed a triangle shape, with their backs to each other, bazookas out.

"Fire Junk Chuckers!" the first Garbagemon ordered.

And with that said, the Garbagemon trio began spinning around rapidly, still in their triangle formation, as they blasted their Junk Chuckers, the piles of pink goop being shot in any and all directions.

Suddenly, one by one each of the DigiDestined's Digimon, now in their Champion forms, stepped or flew out from behind the forestry.

The Garbagemon stopped shooting and only smirked.

"Meteor Wing!"

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

"Electroshocker!"

"Gang way for Needle Spray!"

"Nova Blast!"

"Zephyr Blade!"

The attacks all converged at the spot where the Garbagemon were, creating a large cloud of smoke that rose into the air like a mushroom cloud before disappating altogether, leaving behind only a crater.

"All right!" Joe grinned. "That trash is thrashed!"

"Nice job!" Sora nodded.

"Aw you toawwy ruined my gawbage fun!" Puppetmon pouted. "I'm going home! Sike! Look behind you!" he cackled as he pointed to the area behind Mimi.

Right there coming straight for the girl in pink was one of the Garbagemon they thought they'd defeated. "Here's mud in you eye!" he took aim with his Junk Chucker and shot it at the defenseless girl.

"No!" Mimi shouted.

Togemon and Mimi's digivice glowed in tandem as the giant cactus changed form. "Togemon Digivolve to: Lillymon!"

"Look out!" Lillymon pushed Mimi out of the pink goop's way.

She then flew over to the Garbagemon, intending to attack, but was surprised when a second popped out from behind the first.

"Two heads are better than one!" the second Garbagemon snickered.

"Trash that Petunia!" the third Garbagemon sailed over the first to, his bazooka aimed at Lillymon.

Lillymon took a chance and leapt over the first two Garbagemon, while stepping on the face of the third. She flew behind them and took aim. "Flower Cannon!"

The third of the Garbagemon have a chocked noise as he dissolved into data particles.

"Finish 'em off!" Tai ordered.

Greymon glowed in time with Tai's digivice as he changed forms as Lillymon did earlier. "Greymon Digivolve to: MetalGreymon!"

"Giga Blaster!" MetalGreymon shot two huge torpedoes out of his chest cavity at the two remaining Garbagemon.

One of the Garbagemon shot a pile of pink goop at the giant projectiles headed its way. But it seemed their attack didn't work as the pile merely bounced off of the missiles, allowing the projectiles to make contact with it as the other took cover.

A giant explosion sounded as the force of it produced a strong wind that nearly blew the children away because of the close proximity, had it not been for their Digimon holding onto them.

Puppetmon, however, wasn't so lucky. He held onto the top of a tree for dear life as the wind threatened to blow him away, squealing even more when a mound of Garbagemon's goop smacked him straight in the forehead.

"Okay, I surrender!" the remaining Garbagemon cried out. "Please!" He crawled out of his trash can and stood on two lanky pink legs.

The children and their Digimon relaxed a bit, but didn't let their guard down. And they were right not to do that because suddenly, the Garbagemon began to smirk. "Sike! It's time to take out the trash!" He held up his empty trash can as it began to suck everything and anything into it.

The children all did their best to hold onto anything they could with their Digimon doing their best to shield their partners from the strong suction of the void that was Garbagemon's trash can.

"That nasty little creep's really starting to get on my nerves!" Tai gritted his teeth, doing his best to keep Kari, Kagome and Gatomon close to him and MetalGreymon with Reppamon's help.

Unfortunately, the wind proved to be too strong as Kari was whisked away along with Gatomon.

"Kari!" the young girl's siblings shouted, going out to reach for her.

Luckily, Kagome was able to grab a hold of her. "Reppamon!" Kagome shouted over the wind. "Take Kari and Gatomon!" She spun around quickly and threw her younger sister and her Digimon back to her Digimon, who pulled them back to Tai.

"Kagome!" Tai and Kari called out in horror.

"No!" Reppamon shouted, attempting to go and help his partner, but was stopped by MetalGreymon's claw. "What are you doing?"

"I know you want to help," the giant metal-dinosaur tried reasoning, but we won't be able to do anything if you're gone, too! We'll find a way to save Kagome!"

Kagome screamed as she was dragged to the trash can, and just as she felt her foot beginning to get sucked in, she heard a familiar voice from behind.

"Metal Wolf Claw!" A burst of white-blue hit the Garbagemon from behind, dissolving the Digimon and stopping Kagome from being sucked into its void.

Kagome gave a yelp as she was supported by what felt like a metal snout and looked behind her to find MetalGarurumon helping her up. "MetalGarurumon?"

"Are you all right?" the metal-wolf asked.

"Thanks," Kagome nodded just as Reppamon bounded over to his partner, nuzzling every part of her he could reach with his sheer size.

"I'm okay," she giggled. "I'm okay!"

"Don't you ever do something like that again!" Kudamon said when he finally de-digivolved. "You took years off my life!" He wrapped himself around her neck as tight as he could without hurting his partner.

Just then Matt stepped out from behind a tree, a fierce look on his face.

"Matt?" Kagome blinked.

"It's Matt!"

"There you are!"

"Where've you been, buddy?" Tai asked, running over to the blonde.

"Kagome, you need to get away from here," MetalGarurumon whispered, his eyes softening for a brief moment. He looked at Kudamon. "Take care of her." _'Even if Matt doesn't see it, I can see that she means a lot to him…almost as much as T.K does…'_

Kudamon nodded and the two watched as ruby eyes hardened once again, though with an almost indecipherable pleading glimmer in them.

Kagome did as she was told and ran off to stand with Mimi, Kari and the others. She looked worriedly at the scene. _'It's coming true…'_ she thought back to the image of WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon she'd seen a while back, _'they're going to fight…'_

"Thanks for saving our necks," Agumon started running over to the group, "but did you have to cut it so close?"

Unfortunately just as Agumon was a few yards away from the Mega Digimon, MetalGarurumon shot blue lasers out of his eyes at the small orange dinosaur.

"Hey!" Tai turned to Matt. "What's he doing?"

"What is this?" Agumon asked, not understanding why his friend would suddenly turn on him.

"It's a challenge, what else?" MetalGarurumon stepped a few paces forward. "I would digivolve if I were you; and fast!"

"You want to fight me?" Agumon asked. "But why? What have you been eating out there in the forest? We're friends, remember?"

The metal-wolf's only response was to shoot a pair of missiles at the small orange Digimon.

"Matt I don't know what he's doing, but call him off!" Tai told the blonde.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Sora asked.

"I won't, Tai," Matt said quietly, the expression on his face only growing angrier.

"What?" Tai asked, eyes wide. "What did you say?"

"Hurry up and digivolve into WarGreymon!" MetalGarurumon ordered. "Because I definitely won't miss next time!"

"I really think he means it, Tai!" Agumon exclaimed.

"Well?" MetalGarurumon asked again. "Times running out, Agumon! Hurry up and digivolve!"

"You've gotta stop 'em, Tai!" T.K cried out.

"I wish I could, but there's only one person who can," Tai looked at Matt.

_'I knew he was unsure,'_ Kagome thought with wide eyes. _'But I didn't think he'd take it this far! But at least I know now what that image meant, but what was it exactly? A vision?'_

"Come on, this isn't the time to be fighting amongst ourselves!" Sora tried diffusing the situation. 'Matt, just what's gotten into you?"

"What's gotten into him is that he wants to be the boss!" Tai scoffed.

"The boss," Matt sniffed, "Yeah; be the boss of this sorry group? I say we should just take care of ourselves."

"Matt have you forgotten that we've been chosen to be the DigiDestined?" Joe asked.

"And who exactly chose us?" Matt retorted. "Come on, tell me! I want some answers and you don't seem to have them!"

Kagome looked around when she felt the brush of a malicious aura, but unfortunately, she could figure out where it was, though she knew who it could be. _'Puppetmon's here…could he have been the one to set Matt off like this? Just what did he tell him?'_

She looked back to the group and saw Agumon digivolving. "Agumon Warp Digivolve to: WarGreymon!"

She and the rest of the group watched as the two Mega Digimon flew high into the air and began hitting, bashing, and clawing at each other without fail.

Tai stalked closer to Matt, intending on getting him to stop the needless fighting.

"What?" Matt smirked. "Chicken?"

"That's it!" Tai lashed out with a fist to Matt's face, angrier than ever.

Matt only returned with a punch to Tai's face.

"Matt!" T.K shouted, trying to get his brother to stop fighting. "I'm telling Mom and Daddy that you were fighting!"

"Sorry, T.K," Matt grunted out, "But this has to be done!"

"You were wrong about what he wanted Kagome!" Tai shouted. "And right now he needs to be taught a lesson!"

Kagome just shook her head. _'I may or may not have been wrong,'_ she thought, _'But I _do_ know that T.K was the trigger…'_

"Both of you stop it right now!" Joe told them loudly.

"This is becoming ridiculous!" Izzy said angrily.

"You two are just making things worse!" Sora said with worry.

"Take this!" Tai threw another punch at Matt, succeeding in knocking him to the ground. He knelt down and gripped Matt's shirt. "Look, I'm only doing what I am to honour all the brave Digimon that faught with and for us! We were chosen for a reason and they trusted us to see our mission through to the end and save this world!" Tears were streaming down both boys' cheeks by now.

"But what if we made a mistake?" Matt lashed out with another punch at Tai, this time knocking the brown-haired boy back.

Kagome glanced up at the Mega Digimon fighting above just in time to catch WarGreymon using his Brave Tornado on MetalGarurumon, but doing little damage and MetalGarurumon returning with his signature Metal Wolf Claw attack.

"This is getting out of control," Kagome said quietly. "But there really isn't any way to stop this…Not unless we get Matt and Tai to see sense, which is next to impossible at this point."

"So then what do we do?" Kudamon asked, looking up at his partner.

"Hope for a miracle," Kagome whispered. "Because right now, that's probably the only thing strong enough to stop them all…"

It was then that Kagome felt that strange pulse running through her body once more. "What _is_—Kari?" the raven-haired girl watched as Kari walked off, as though following something.

"Hmm," Kagome frowned as she went to follow her younger sister, not knowing that Tentomon, Izzy, and Gatomon were also following them.

"Where do you think she's going?" Kudamon asked.

""I don't know," Kagome said quietly. "But I think it might have something to do with whoever I've been feeling around us…"

Kagome was proven correct when she found Kari conversing with what looked like a patch of sparkles in the air. "Kari?" the raven-haired girl asked. "Who are you talking to?"

"I don't know who it is," Kari told her older sister, "but whoever it is, they don't mean us any harm." She turned to the patch of sparkles. "This is my older sister, Kagome and her Digimon, Kudamon."

Kagome looked at the patch of sparkles Kari spoke to and gave it a try herself. "It's a pleasure to meet you, though I can't understand or see you. But I _have_ known that you've been following us for a while now."

"What is it?" Kari asked. "Do you want to be friends?"

Suddenly, the patch of sparkles glowed in tandem with Kari's body. The young girl closed her eyes and held up her crest, the trinket beginning to glow brightly, engulfing every one of the DigiDestined and their partners, the two Mega Digimon returning to their In-Training forms.

"Kari!" Kagome shouted.

"What's going on?!" Izzy called out.

"Izzy!" Tentomon yelped.

The next the DigiDestined knew, they were standing in an all-white space, with no clue as to where they were. All that was there besides them were their partners and their shadows.

"What's going on?" Tai asked.

"No idea…" Matt looked around in confusion.

"In this world, there is a balance of Dark and Light," Kari spoke, her voice not her own, but a bit more mature and lower in pitch. "The light represents all the good in the world, while the dark represents all the evil. When the darkness becomes larger than the light, it upsets the balance."

The children gasped as their shadows grew to engulf them all.

"Whoa," Tai exclaimed, "looks like the balance is really out of whack!"

"So someone just flip the switch and put the lights back on," Joe commented easily.

"Look!" Kagome pointed to something in the distance. "There's something over there."

Little by little, their surroundings changed to a very familiar sight; Highton View Terrace.

"This'll probably sound strange," Mimi said slowly, "But are we home again?"

Slowly, the image zoomed in a bit and they saw Greymon with a large green bird Digimon that resembled a parrot.

"Hang on," Izzy said slowly, "I've seen that Digimon somewhere before…" he sat down and opened up his laptop, typing away. 'I was right! That's Parrotmon, he's the other mysterious Digimon we saw at Highton View Terrace four years ago. He's an Ultimate-level Digimon."

"He passed through the Dimensional Divide," Kari explained. "Some time ago a Digi-Egg fell from our world to yours."

"Kari?" Tai turned to his younger sister. "What are you talking about?"

"I think Kari's had too much catnip," Gatomon commented.

"That's not Kari," Kagome shook her head. "It's someone else; someone who needed to tell us something important."

Izzy nodded. "My theory is that someone or something is using Kari's body to speak for them."

"My wish is that there be peace and happiness for everyone," Kari spoke.

"What are you?" Sora asked. "I don't understand; are you some kind of supernatural being or something?"

"No," Kari said amusedly, "nothing like that. I am similar to the Digimon as I was created using Data-Bytes from the internet. But the difference between the Digimon and I is that the Digimon are able to take a physical shape, while I had to temporarily take over Kari in order to speak to all of you."

"Couldn't you have taken Joe instead?" Tai asked.

"Hey!" Joe said indignantly.

Kari shook her head. "I _had_ to take Kari; she was the only one I could communicate with."

"Then how was I able to sense you?" Kagome asked.

"That was due to your gift," Kari answered. "If you weren't blessed, then it's likely that you wouldn't have felt or heard me."

"Then do you know who gave this gift to me?" the raven-haired girl asked. "I've just been calling him Oryu this entire time."

"That is not my place to say," Kari shook her head.

"Uh, can we get back to the subject?" Mimi asked.

Kari nodded. "I wanted to contact you when you first arrived at File Island, but it was completely impossible under the circumstances."

The group gave a yelp when they suddenly found themselves flying over Highton View Terrace.

"Prodigious," Izzy said in fascination.

"Talk about a blast from the past," Tai commented. "That's us from four years ago!" He and Kagome looked over to the small version of Tai holding onto a small Kagome with a tiny Kari latching onto Kagome.

"Still the same as ever," Koromon grinned at his partner, "you're looking out for your sisters."

"Hey, that's me," Joe blinked with a grinning Gomamon down at a young version of himself. "How typical, I'm on the telephone."

"I was so cute!" Mimi squealed, looking at her younger self.

"It's hard to believe we were ever that little," Sora commented, looking down at herself.

"There's my brother and me!" T.K pointed out at the duo gawking on the balcony.

"And that's definitely me," Izzy said, looking at the small auburn-haired child. "But what's with the light?"

"Its purpose is to process your vital information," Kari replied.

"That's kinda creepy, you know that?" Matt looked at Kari. "Why would it be doing that?"

"Just follow me," Kari told them all, guiding them into the portal where Parrotmon and Greymon were situated under, "and I'll explain everything."

"Here we go again!" Joe whimpered before the portal closed behind them.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Where are we now?" Sora asked.

"It's rather bizarre, if you ask me," Izzy added.

"It kind of looks like a lab or something," Kagome tilted her head in observation.

"Hey!" T.K grinned. "Look!" he can to a glass case full of nine patterned eggs. "These look like Digi-Eggs!"

"And next to each egg are crests and digivices," Kagome commented.

"Okay," Matt said slowly, "this isn't weird at all…"

"What?" Joe said. "And floating in the sky is normal?" Suddenly Joe screamed, causing everyone to turn around and see what had the older boy fussing about, only to gasp at the sight.

Several transparent figures in white hooded robes walked passed them without a glance and went over to the various kinds of machinery and began to fiddle around with something or another on them.

"Hey fellas, can't you say hello?" Gomamon said, miffed.

Kari walked over to the front of the group and faced them. "These people are only computer images; figments of the past that have been digitally transmitted to your present."

And with that said, the group split up to look around and take in the place for a bit.

Izzy gasped. "Hey, I recognize this! It's from Myotismon's castle; the pattern lock that opened the gate!"

"And here's the gate he used to get into the Human World!" Biyomon flew up in front of the large iron gates.

"Let me guess," Joes said sarcastically, referring to the transparent people still moving about, doing their work. "Those are the elves that make shoes at night?"

"They're monitoring the positive and negative forces to preserve harmony in the world," Kari answered. "We took the information we gathered from you and used them to create your digivices and crests."

"That must mean that you're the ones who chose us," Matt breathed out.

"Is that true?" Tai asked, Koromon in his arms.

Kari nodded. "Yes."

"Then tell me this," Tai looked at his younger sister. "What makes _us_ so special?"

"You made it possible for Greymon to survive and digivolve," Kari explained, "And it couldn't be accomplished without help from you, Kari, and Kagome." "

But he did digivolve without me," Tai protested.

Kari shook her head. "A Digimon can't digivolve without you; it doesn't work that way. The very fact that you were both there made him digivolve in order to protect you."

"But how?" Kagome asked this time. "We were just little kids who didn't even have a digivice…"

"A digivice is only a tool that was created and given to you to help with the digivolving process," Kari explained. It assists you by making you aware of your powers, but it's the special qualities in each of you that really make it work; the same thing goes for the crests. Can you tell me what your personal crests really represent?"

One by one each of the DigiDestined took out their crests and answered Kari.

"Well, mine's Courage," Tai grinned.

"This one's Love," Sora said.

"Sincerity," Mimi smiled.

"Knowledge," Izzy nodded.

"Reliability," Joe replied.

"I know mine!" T.K exclaimed. "It's Hope!"

"And mine—" Matt couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence, so Joe did it for him.

"Wasn't it Friendship?" Joe said gently.

"Mine is Compassion and Kari's is Light," Kagome answered.

"That's true," Kari told them, "But there's much more to it than just those baser titles. Every one of you have strengths and weaknesses; we took each of the strongest qualities you each had four years ago and created a crest for them."

"I understand now!" Tentomon buzzed with excitement.

"If that trait is lost," Kari continued, "then the Digimon can become corrupted."

Tai gasped as he remembered one incident in particular. "Something like that _did_ happen. When I tried forcing Greymon to digivolve, he warped and turned into this weird Digimon called SkullGreymon. But I realize now that it was a really stupid thing to do."

"But the important thing is that you learned from it," Kari told Tai.

"Then all this time we've been racking our brains for stuff about ourselves that we already knew?" Joe scratched his head. "Ha! That's a fine howdy do!"

Matt walked off with Tsunomon under his arm back to the case with the Digi-Eggs. He took a look at the egg and the crest once more and clenched his fist.

"Who knew?" Tsunomon commented.

"Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed. "I now understand why Tai, Kagome, and Kari were chosen, but the rest of us never made contact with the Digi-Egg, so why us?"

"When we examined your data," Kari explained with a serious expression, "we came to the conclusion that the rest of you had something in common with Tai, Kari, and Kagome. But what it is, we didn't and still don't know. All you need to understand is that you've proven yourselves to be very capable to handle the responsibilities you were given."

"I wonder who these belong to?" T.K asked, walking up to the glass case.

"Can't you tell?" Kari smiled.

"I think it's us!" Patamon chirped.

"Yes," Kari nodded.

"Wow! Which one's me?" Palmon asked.

"I think the answer's in the crests," Tsunomon spoke up.

"This one's me!" Biyomon pointed to a pink egg with red hearts printed over the surface.

"And that's mine," Gomamon looked up at a white egg with violet polka dots.

"Yes," Kari sighed. "But I'm afraid I have bad news. The Dark Master got wind of our plan and worked very hard to defeat us."

Just then the wall of the lab was blown apart and a whole band of silver and copper-hued armoured Digimon marched in, arms out as they shot missiles at the Data Humans.

The DigiDestined, bar Kagome and Kari, screamed and ran away as the band of Digimon came closer to them. _'I wonder when they'll remember it's not real, or at least it's not real right now…'_

Unfortunately, T.K tripped and fell while attempting to keep up with the rest of the group. He shouted in fear as the marching of the metal Digimon came closer and closer.

"Boom Bubble!" Patamon released a bullet of air at the Digimon in an attempt to protect T.K, but it only went through them.

"Save your breath," Kari told the Digimon, "They're only computer images, remember?"

The group watched in horror as the copper and silver Digimon shot missiles at the Data Humans and around the lab.

"So just because they're computer images we just sit here and do nothing," Tai exclaimed.

"You can try," Kari shrugged. "But it wouldn't do any good. Remember, this already happened and since these are jus figments of the past, there's nothing that can be done now."

**"That one's Guardramon,"** Izzy told them, pointing to the copper Digimon, and reading the information off his computer**. "He's a machine Digimon and his armour's constructed of solid iron. And absolutely nothing can penetrate _that_ can of beans."**

"There's some more of them!" Matt turned and saw a line of silver Digimon headed by them, but one of them taking a turn toward the glass case.

**"This is no space age vacuum cleaner,"** Tentomon told them, **"Meet Mekanorimon. His Twin Beam will annihilate anything, which makes house work a breeze."**

The group could only watch helplessly as more and more of the Data Humans feel to the Digimon army's attacks.

"AHH!" Joe exclaimed. "Piedmon's here! Oh please don't come here! Shoo! Go away!"

"Relax," Gomamon told the blue-haired boy, "he's just an image, remember?"

"Yeah," Sora snickered, "Save your screaming for the real thing."

They watched as Piedmon held his hands out and sent an invisible blast at the case, cracking the glass open.

"He's gonna steal the crests!" Tai exclaimed, watching as the clown Digimon did just that.

"Get your grubby hands off of those crests, Piedmon!" a voice shouted.

The group turned to see a young man with spiky light-brown hair pulled into a low ponytail, slightly tanned sin and blue eyes in a white hood robe running toward the clown Digimon.

Piedmon scoffed. "Gennai…"

"That's Gennai?" T.K asked.

The group, bar Kari and Kagome blinked at the young man that was now fighting against Piedmon with a sword and tried to make the connection between this figure and the older one they'd met a while back.

"He's actually pretty cute…" Kagome commented.

Tai turned to his sister and blanched. "Don't say that! Seriously, don't!"

"Why not?" Kagome asked.

"Because—" Tai shook his head. "You'll find out soon enough."

They turned back to see Gennai prying open the head of one of the Mekanorimon and taking out the Bakemon that was controlling it only to get in it himself. Using the giant Digimon under his control, Gennai grabbed the cords connected to the digivices and Digi-Eggs and gathered them into Mekanorimon's hand before launching himself upwards and out for the lab.

"Follow him!" Piedmon ordered the Guardramon. "Don't let Gennai out of your sight!"

And with that said the DigiDestined were once more flying, but this time following Gennai and the Guardramon after him.

"Let's follow them and see what happened in the past," Kari said as they flew after.

They watched as the Guardramon shot missiles at Gennai, only for him to dodge most of them and get hit by at least one, causing one of the Digi-Eggs in his grasp to fall off and land in a heavily forested region.

"That's my Digi-Egg!" Gatomon exclaimed. Her eyes saddened. "At least that explains why I grew up all alone…"

Kagome flew back to the feline Digimon and rubbed her behind the ear. "Cheer up, you're here now aren't you? C'mon!" She took Gatomon by the paw and flew on ahead to catch up with the others.

"Hey," Izzy spoke up, "What about the Crests of Discord? How did they come to be?"

"When Piedmon attacked that base, he was able to get away with the crests," Kari explained, "in order to create, what he thought would be, a greater force, he copied the information of your crests and combined it with his own dark energy to create what you know as the Crests of Discord. Of course, when Gennai found out about those, he quickly, with some help, sealed them away. And of course, you know what happened after that…"

Soon, the images of Gennai and the Guardramon disappeared to let in the view of an iced-over island.

"Is that File Island?" Tai asked.

"After Gennai rescued the Digi-Eggs and digivices," Kari resumed her story, "he left them to grow up on File Island, but continued to monitor them to the best of his ability away from the Digimon. And soon after many years, the Digi-Eggs finally hatched."

The DigiDestined and their partners watched in awe as they watched the right Digimon hatch and play as they grew up with each other.

"I remember that," Koromon commented, "it felt like it was forever, waiting for Tai…"

"For Matt," Tsunomon grinned up at his partner.

"For Sora," Biyomon rubbed herself against her partner's leg.

"For Mimi," Palmon smiled up at her partner.

"For Joe!" Gomamon grinned cheekily.

"For T.K," Patamon plopped down on T.K's head.

"For Izzy," Tentomon looked up to the young genius.

"And for Kagome," Kudamon nuzzled his human's cheek.

"We didn't think they'd ever come. And then one day the digivices left and brought you guys to us with a bang!" Koromon laughed.

"The question is," Kari spoke, "What exactly are the dark masters planning? We work day and night trying to find out, but for now, all we can do is guess, and try to outwit them before something terrible  
happens."

"Then what should we do now?" Tai asked.

"It's hard to say," Kari shook her head. "But I believe you'll be able to find the answer on your own."

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Kari groaned as she opened her eyes, finding herself lying in Kagome's lap with Tai and Gatomon hovering over her.

"Hey," Tai smiled softly at his sister.

"Are you going to be all right?" Gatomon looked worriedly at her partner.

"Hi!" Kari smiled. "What's going on?"

"She's back!" Kagome said with relief.

"We missed you!" Mimi squealed.

"Did it hurt?" Sora asked the young girl.

"No," Kari stood up, "What do you mean?"

"It's nothing," Tai shook his head, placing his hands on Kari's shoulder before standing up. "Don't worry about it." He looked over to Matt. "Well, at least we now know, heck we just saw it happen."

"Yeah," Matt nodded, "We did."

"So now the entire world's depending on us to save it together," Tai held out his hand to for Matt to take. "So what do you say? Are we still a team?"

But instead of taking his hand, Matt closed his eyes and shook his head.

"What's the matter?" T.K asked.

"Hey," Tai said gently, "Why don't we just put the past behind us?"

"That's all good," Matt said, turning away, "But it's not that and you wouldn't understand."

"Of course I do," Tai said, thinking this was still about the fight Matt instigated earlier. "I say we let bygones be bygones."

Matt sighed. "That's not the problem, Tai. This thing is bigger than either of us; tt's not about right or wrong. I have my path and you have yours, and I'm not even sure where this path is going to take me, but I know I have to find it for myself." He turned back to look at his friends. "But I still believe in all of us. I mean, without any of you, where would I be? It's just really confusing right now, and I let it get to me. That's why we fought. I know it's important that you guys can count on me, but…I'm going to do this because I have to! Besides, Tsunomon will be with me, so I'll be alright. Don't worry; it'll be a lot better this way."

"Matt, if you approach this logically, I'm sure you'll reconsider,' Izzy tried talking the boy out of his plan, "You crest—"

"Wait, Izzy," Kagome cut off the auburn-haired boy softly. She looked at Matt. "Is this what you really want to do? That going off on your own will help you sort things out?"

Matt looked at the raven-haired girl and nodded after a moment.

The raven-haired girl looked into the blonde's eyes and found a swirl of emotions hiding within the blue orbs. She turned back to the group. "Let him go," she told them.

"But—" T.K tried protesting.

"T.K," Kagome said gently, "I know you love your brother and you know he loves you, too. But nig brother need their space, too, remember? Trust Matt to stay safe and believe in him; that's all we can do right now."

"Well, then I believe in you, too!" Sora nodded.

"Thanks guys," Matt gave a rueful smile. _'They still care even after everything I did?' _"I guess I'll be seein' ya," he said, turning around and walking away from the group.

"Well, we'd better move it," Tai told the remaining members of the group. "We've got two worlds to save! Being down one DigiDestined won't stop us, right?"

And with that said, the group began walking, but stopped when Kagome spoke. "Mimi?" She asked. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm staying here," the girl in pink replied. "I hope you understand, but I can't go and keep watching our friends get hurt every time we fight."

Joe looked at the caramel-haired girl seriously for a moment. "Then I'm staying, too," he nodded.

"Joe?" Tai blinked up at the older boy.

"Look, it's not safe for Mimi stay out here all alone," Joe explained. "I'll look out for her and later on we'll regroup."

"Gotcha," Tai nodded. "Good luck!"

"Thanks," Joe smiled at his friends before walking to stand next to the girl in pink.

"Wait for me!" Gomamon shouted, running after her partner.

"Now we're all split up again," Biyomon said sadly. "And just when we were finally together."

"You may think we're separated," Gatomon said comfortingly, "but we're not."

"Huh?" Patamon and Biyomon looked at the feline Digimon confusedly.

"The roads might be different," Gatomon spoke.

"But the destination is the same," Kagome finished, getting a smile and nod from the feline Digimon.

"Think about it," the feline Digimon told them, "If they really are DigiDestined, then they're destined to be together. So it may not be tomorrow or even the day after, but we'll all be together again soon." _'Or at least I hope that's how it works out…'_

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	12. Book One: In Which the Strings are Cut

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

AN: This really isn't too long, but I hope I wrote it well enough… Though this might even sound a little rushed, actually, mainly because I haven't been able to really concentrate since I got sick, but them again, who can control things like that? Que sera sera, I suppose. Oh yes, and before I forget, I won't be updating my Digimon Frontier/InuYasha story very much since I really want to get Book One of this finished as I'm really close to it.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-In Which the Strings are Cut-Xx**

"What's going on?!" Sora asked, holding onto a tree with the Digimon holding onto their partners.

Tai and what was left of the DigiDestined, had been walking for no more than nearly half an hour since they'd separated when a great tremor rocked the earth.

"I don't know," Tai shouted.

"Just hold on," Kagome told T.K and Kari, who were in her arms as she rested against a tree for stability, "It'll blow over in a bit…" _'I hope…'_

But sure enough, the shaking stopped after a few more minutes, allowing the children and the Digimon to sigh in relief.

"What could that have been?" T.K asked, stepping out of kagome's arms, but still staying close to the older girl.

"Some sort of explosion?" Kagome suggested.

"An earthquake?" Kari added.

"I would wager a guess and say that the Digital World could be shifting again," Izzy shrugged.

"It was a meteor!" Tentomon flew down from the sky, where he'd gone to scout out their surroundings. "And I mean a whooper! It just crashed into the forest!"

"Why don't we go and check it out?" Tai proposed.

"I don't know," Sora said hesitantly. "It sounds kinda dangerous."

T.K nodded in agreement. "Yeah, so why don't we go to Puppetmon's Mansion?"

Patamon nodded from T.K's arms. "We can show you where it is no problem!"

"I suppose it's inevitable," Izzy said contemplatively, "After all, he _is_ one of the Dark Master and we'll have to face him sooner or later."

"It's time somebody cut his strings instead of waiting around here!" Gatomon said approvingly. "Let's take the fight to him for a change; I'm afraid if we don't, then both our worlds will be destroyed!"

Kari looked frightened at her partner's words, despite Kagome trying to calm her. "Come on, Tai, let's go!" she looked pleadingly at her older brother.

"Wait a second, you guys," Sora warned, "this could be really dangerous. Puppetmon's a Mega Digimon, remember?"

Kagome nodded in agreement. "Sora's right. We know we have to defeat the Dark Masters, the most current being Puppetmon. We can't just rush in without a plan; it'd be building a tower or something. The entire thing would fall apart at some point because you weren't prepared or hadn't planned ahead."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" T.K asked. "Sit around and watch cartoons all day?"

"Let's fight!" Patamon's wings waved up and down with his statement.

"The most logical way to determine our next course of action would be to take a vote," Izzy pointed out. "All those in favor of going to Puppetmon's mansion, say 'Aye'."

And with that said, everyone but Tai, Kagome, Sora, Biyomon, and Kudamon voted to go.

"Tai?" the young genius asked. "Is something wrong? You haven't voted."

_'He's actually thinking it over,'_ Kagome blinked in astonishment. But the she saw her brother look to the young blonde in their group and realized the reason why. _'He's considering T.K's safety now that Matt's not here…Tai probably thinks that it's his job to look after T.K until Matt gets back.'_

"What should we do, Tai?" Kari asked.

"We're waiting for an answer~!" Tentomon sang.

_'He's not really thinking of going?'_ Sora thought nervously. _'Not after everything we've been through recently?'_

The group watched as Tai closed his eyes to think for a few more moments before they snapped open once more. "We'll go," Tai decided, causing T.K and Patamon to cheer.

"What?" Sora all but shouted in alarm. "Tai—"

"But," Tai, held a hand up for silence, "only to look around and get a feel for how he operates. We don't have to start any trouble today."

"C'mon, it's this way!" T.K exclaimed, running with ahead with everyone except Sora and Tai behind them.

Kagome glanced back to see what was going on between the two and saw the serious expressions on both preteens' faces. _'Sora's still uncomfortable with Tai's decision…I just hope we _don't_ get into trouble and regret doing this at all…'_

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

With T.K and Patamon leading the way, it didn't take too long for the group to reach Puppetmon's Mansion.

"That's…charming," Kagome tried finding the right word to describe the house that looked more like child's dollhouse. But considering the fact that it was Puppetmon who the structure belonged to, it wasn't really any surprise that the house looked as such.

"You don't have to be nice," T.K stuck his tongue out at the manor. "It looks gross!"

"Well," Sora sweat-dropped, "That's one way to put it…"

"Hey," Tai whispered, looking through his tiny spyglass, "there're two guards standing out front!" He handed his digivice to Izzy. "Can you analyze them?"

"Done," the auburn-haired boy nodded, plugging the digivice into a small compartment on his laptop. **"Okay, the first is Floramon; She's a plant-type Digimon who digivolves like a reptile. Her attack is Rain of Pollen."** He punched a few more buttons and brought up the other Digimon Tai had seen. **"The other guard is Deramon. At first glance it looks like a bird-type Digimon, but it's actually got a plant growing out of its back. Prodigious!"**

"So they're not Ultimate Digimon, right?" Tai clarified.

"No," Izzy confirmed, "but it would still be best t stay on our guard."

Tentomon nodded with his partner's statement. "Even the most harmless of creatures can still be quite dangerous…"

"Then let's get going," Biyomon said, leading the way for everyone to follow.

"Wait," Tai stopped them. "There may be more guards inside; I'll go in alone with Koromon while the rest of you stay out here."

"Aw, but Tai!" T.K protested. "Can't Patamon and I come? After all, we know the place the best!"

Tai shook his head. "Sorry, but it's too dangerous, and that's a risk I'm not willing to take."

"Then why don't we go together?" Kagome suggested. "There's always safety in numbers and besides, if you go alone, I swear that we'll follow you in, whether you want us to or not."

"I agree," Izzy raised his arm as the rest nodded and made sounds of agreement, "To both accounts, actually."

Tai raised his hands as a sign of resignation. "All right, all right, we'll all go together."

That said, the group made their way down to just behind the bushes near the entrance to Puppetmon's Mansion.

"There they are," Sora whispered, peeking over the bush to look at the figures of Deramon and Floramon standing in front of the Mansion entrance.

"Let's do it!" Koromon said determinedly. "Koromon Digivolve to: Agumon!"

"Super Shocker!" Tentomon flew out from behind and shot a minor electrical ray at Floramon.

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon blew a fireball at Deramon, charring the bird-like Digimon.

"If you wanted fried chicken, you could've asked!" Deramon snapped at the small orange dinosaur.

"Sorry," Agumon apologized. "We thought you were here to protect Puppetmon's mansion."

"Oh, so you barbeque me?!" Deramon sneered.

"You've got it all wrong!" the Floramon ran up and waved her hands back and forth. "We're not protecting anything! We're Puppetmon's 'Playmates'."

"You know," Deramon added, "Someone to chase around and attack when he gets bored. But seriously, he's just a jerk that none of us here can stand!"

"Oh," T.K nodded, "I remember now; it's 'cause he's got no friends, right? At least any real ones."

"It must be sad," Kari commented, "having no friends around to talk or play with…What could be worse than that?"

Gatomon looked at the group and the two new Digimon for a moment before making a comment. "Litterbox lined with flypaper?"

Surprised, the group looked over to the feline Digimon, to find her smirking and burst out into laughter. _'Mission accomplished,'_ Gatmon nodded to herself.

"Is Puppetmon inside right now?" Kagome spoke up.

Deramon shook his head. "I think he's out getting fumigated for termites."

"So what should we do now?" Agumon looked up at his partner.

"Well," Tai said contemplatively, "since he's not here, it'd be a good chance for us to take a look around the house for a bit."

"Could you show us around, Deramon?" T.K asked.

"Sure," the bird-like Digimon replied, "I _was_ a tour guide at Digi-Studios a while back. Come on!" He and Floramon walked side by side as the DigiDestined and their partners followed behind.

"Digi-Studios?" Kagome glanced at her partner, questioningly.

"I honestly have no idea," Kudamon said, baffled. "I've never heard of nor seen the place he's talking about." He narrowed his eyes at the bird-like Digimon for a moment. "Do you think he's delusional?"

"He doesn't look like it," Kagome said quietly.

"Oh," Deramon turned around to face the group, "No video cameras, flash photography, and food or drink allowed during the tour." He turned back around and started walking into the mansion, babbling about its history and whatnot as if it _were_ an actual tour.

_'He _does_ know that this really isn't an actual tour, right? I wonder if anything he's saying even happened…' _Kagome sweat-dropped. "Then again, he might be a tad off-kilter…"

At this point, Kagome had noticed the orange-haired girl of their group looking around nervously, as though waiting for something, maybe even someone to burst through the trees.

"Are you okay, Sora?" Kagome asked quietly.

"Huh?" Sora looked over at the raven-haired girl. "Oh no! It's nothing, really!"

Kagome looked into Sora's eyes for a moment. "You're still worried about doing this," she stated finally.

"What the—how did you know?" the orange-haired girl asked.

"You looked uncomfortable when Tai decided to come here and right now you seemed really nervous," Kagome shrugged.

"It's just that it's a little too convenient for Puppetmon to not be here," Sora said eventually. "I can't help but feel that we could be waling straight into a trap."

Kagome nodded. "I know how you feel because, to you the truth, I had the same idea. But that's not all that bothering you is it? Does it have something to do with what you and Tai were talking about earlier?"

Sora nodded. "He said that if anything went wrong, he'd distract everyone with Agumon so that I could lead everyone away to safety."

"But?" Kagome prompted.

"But what if something happens to him? To all of us?" Sora burst out.

"Listen," Kagome sighed. "If there's something I know about Tai it's that he never breaks a promise, no matter what. If he said that he'll protect us, he'll do it. If he says that he'll come back, he will, no matter what it takes. Whatever he promises, he always comes through for them. All we need to do is have faith in him and Fate will take care of the rest."

The orange-haired girl looked at the raven-haired preteen for a moment, contemplating the wise words before nodding silently.

"Hey, what's that?" T.K asked when they all walked into the mansion. He pointed to a blue box atop the staircase with a large red ribbon on the lid.

"Get away!" Floramon shouted, pushing Kagome, Tentomon, Izzy, Patamon, T.K, and Agumon into one room while Deramon shoved Kari, Gatomon, Sora, Biyomon, and Tai in another.

"What was that?" Kagome asked, alarmed.

"One of Puppetmon's toys," Floramon panted, trying to compose herself.

"And he has toys like this everywhere?" Kudamon asked slowly.

"Most of his dangerous toys are usually left out," Floramon nodded. "But the ones that aren't as dangerous, or at least the ones that won't try and destroy you, are up in his toy attic."

And with that, the smaller group began to walk behind Floramon once more, asking the occasional question now and then.

It wasn't until they came upon a small red fire truck in the middle of the hall did they stop.

"Oh, look!" Patatmon flew over to the toy. "It's a toy!"

"You're right," Agumon went over to the plaything and began to poke at it, trying to see how it would turn on.

"Don't touch anything!" Floramon tried telling them, but it was too late. A small light began flashing as a soft siren-like sound filled the hall.

"No!" Floramon shouted, picked up the toy, and threw it out the window. "Get down!"

_BOOM!_

"What was that?" T.K asked.

"The toy was a bomb," Kagome said with wide eyes.

"A _heat-activated_ bomb," Izzy clarified, "to be precise."

"_That_ was why I said not to touch anything!" Floramon said exasperatedly.

"Sorry," Patamon and Agumon said with bowed heads.

And with that said, the small group resumed their tour, Floramon telling them what was safe and what wasn't, which happened to be nearly everything in sight.

It wasn't long before this small group reunited with the other half of the DigiDestined and their Digimon. And while it seemed that the tour was over, the children and their Digimon still went into random rooms, to look but not touch, and get a feel for the area for when they really did take on Puppetmon.

"You, guys!" T.K shouted from a room. "Look at what I found!"

"A cannon?" Sora said in surprise when she came in, followed by the rest, looking at the large weapon. "Here?"

"It _is_ Puppetmon's mansion," Kagome pointed out.

"That's true," Biyomon nodded. 'He looks like all he wants to do is play games, but his idea of fun is really warped!"

"Hey," Tai spoke up as he looked through his mini-spyglass, "Quiet down, Puppetmon's coming!"

Izzy squatted down next to the cannon and proceeded to look it over with Agumon and Tentomon's help. "If I knew how this thing worked, we could use it to keep Puppetmon away from here."

"Didn't we just say that we were only going to look around and not fight?" Sora asked worriedly.

"I know what I said," Tai nodded. "But in this case, we really don't have a choice. And unless you want to take on Puppetmon right now, we have to find some way to keep him away from here long enough for us to get away!"

Sora looked like she was going to protest, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. The orange-haired girl looked back and saw Kagome shaking her head silently.

"Tai's right," Kagome said softly, "by the time we get out of here, Puppetmon'll have caught up to us and then we might not be able to avoid a fight. But if we can keep him away from here long enough, we have a chance to escape."

"And if we don't get that chance even after doing this?" Sora asked.

"I know you don't want to," Icy-blue eyes softened, "But if it comes to that, then we'll have no choice _but_ to fight. We wouldn't be able to get away otherwise and you know that we won't have another chance to get Puppetmon like this. You know as well as I do that eventually we'll be facing more and more of the Dark Masters, running away won't make them go away."

Sora looked at the raven-haired girl and nodded after a moment's hesitation. "I guess you're right…" _'But I don't have to like doing this, especially when it's so dangerous…'_

"Why don't you do it?" Agumon turned to Deramon and Floramon.

"We can't!" Floramon shook her head rapidly.

"That goes against all my principles!" Deramon said, offended.

"And what principles would those be?" Kudamon asked, getting a smirk from Kagome and the others. "Go on, tell us what these 'principles' you've set for yourself are."

"Well that's—It's like this—" Deramon tried saying, but comtinued to stumble over his words hen he couldn't find the right words to say.

"You don't have anything, do you?" Kagome asked.

Deramon sighed, "All right, all right, what the heck? I'll do it; just don't tell Puppetmon, okay?"

"We know, we know!" Patamon replied.

That said, Deramon and Floramon began pushing the cannon towards the window so that the long bore stuck out of the window.

The children and their Digimon partners watched and waited with their hands over their ears as the two Digimon readied the cannon to be fire.

"I've got him in my sights," Deramon reported. "Ready…Aim…FIRE!"

"Take this, Puppetmon!" Floramon muttered under her breath as she gripped the trigger string and tugged hard.

_BANG! BANG!_

A cloud of smoke rose from the bore of the cannon as the first shot was launched, followed by another and then another. Soon enough, Deramon and Floramon were each taking turns, pulling the trigger, feeling a bit more comfortable with the task that was forced onto them.

"Shouldn't we be stopping them? They look like they're having a little too much fun, don't you think?" Biyomon whispered.

"Do you really want to disturb them?" Kudamon muttered back.

Biyomon only paled and shook her head back and forth rapidly.

"Shouldn't we be taking this chance to run?" Sora asked.

"Deramon said that the only way in or out of the house was through the front door," Izzy shook his head. "Apparently, he wasn't smart enough to build in a back entrance or we'd be out of here by now."

"Besides," Tentomon added, "Puppetmon's still out there, and way too close to the mansion! We wouldn't be able to get out _without_ fighting him!"

"GET OUT NOW!" the group heard Puppetmon shout, a little louder than they'd expected, indicating that he was very close to the mansion.

Deramon and Flora peeked out of the window and screamed before running away and out of the room, leaving the DigiDestined and their partners behind.

"You guys know you'we not awwowed upstaiws!" they heard Puppetmon rant. "My woom is off-wimits! You'we supposed to take cawe of my toys! Not pway with them!"

"I'd say you need to learn some manners," Gatomon said, hopping up onto the end of the bose of the cannon. "We're not hurting anything, expect maybe you," she added.

Just then the front doors burst open as Tai and Agumon kicked them, revealing the group of children with their Digimon, all ready to fight.

"You're toast, Puppetmon!" Tai glared at the marionette Digimon. "We've had it with you and your games!"

"Oh so now you wanna pway, huh?" the wooden Digimon mocked. "How about a game of fowwow the weader!"

"Get back here you oversized toothpick!" Tai shouted as the group ran after wooden Digimon.

Suddenly the group stopped, gasping when they saw sprouts growing out fo the ground along with a horde of plant-like Digimon.

"See, T.K?" Puppetmon laughed. "I _do_ have fwiends! And what my fwiends don't like, they destwoy!"

"We ran straight into a trap," Gatomon muttered. "Not our best move…"

"But it's not very surprising, now that you think about it, is it?" Kagome asked quietly. "Puppetmon isn't really known for playing fair…"

"Go get 'em!" Puppetmon ordered the Digimon now surrounding the DigiDestined.

"Right, Boss!" the Digimon chorused.

**"RedVeggiemon have extremely volatile tempers,"** Izzy recited from his laptop, **"That's why their faces are always red. Not exactly what I'd call 'the friendly type'!"**

"Ten I guess it's time to do a little weed whacking," Tai drew out his digivice, as did the others.

"Tentomon Digivolve to: Kabuterimon!"

"Biyomon Digivolve to: Birdramon!"

"Patamon Digivolve to: Angemon!"

"Kudamon Digivolve to: Reppamon!"

"Electroshocker!"

"Meteor Wing!"

"Hand of Fate!"

"Lightning Paw!"

"Sky Fissure!"

"Pepper Breath!"

One by one, each of the Digimon knocked out a cluster of RedVeggiemon until they all were slumped on the ground, unconscious, before Puppetmon.

"You guys awe about as useless as a bunch of stinky, wotten vegetables!" Puppetmon fumed. "I've had it with you!"

"And just what are you going to do about that?" Tai asked, holding his digivice up.

"Agumon Warp Digivolve to: WarGreymon!"

"Mega Claw!" WarGreymon zipped forward with his clawed gauntlets.

"Puppet Pummel!" Puppetmon swung his hammer forward the same time, both attack intercepting each other with a large 'bang'.

"Think you'we so tough?" Puppetmon said. "Nobody toys with me! I toy with them! Take this!" He stuck his hands out, allowing marionette strings to flit out of his fingertips and attach onto WarGreymon's body.

The dragon-knight Digimon tried struggling, but it was no use, Pupetmon's hold on him was too strong.

"The enemy's that way!" Puppetmon laughed as he maneuvered the strings to turn WarGreymon in the DigiDestined's direction.

"Stay away!" WarGreymon told his human companions as he was manipulated to swing his gauntlets at them. "I don't know what he could make me do!"

First it was Tai and Sora who were targeted; then soon it was Kagome, Kari, and T.K. Unfortunately while running, Kari had tripped, causing Kagome and T.K to hang back to help the young girl, only to find it to be too late. WarGreymon was already behind them, his gauntlets poised to attack.

"Kari!" Gatomon shouted

"Kagome!" Reppamon roared.

"T.K!' Angemon called out.

"No!" Tai's eyes widened in fear for his siblings and the small boy left in his care.

"Gatomon Digivolve to: Angewomon!"

"Reppamon Digivolve to: Chirinmon!"

The two Ultimate and one Champion Digimon swooped in and gathered their partners into this arms, or in Chirinmon's case, his back.

Puppetmon smiled maliciously as he moved his hands once more, setting the Mega Digimon under his control after Sora and Izzy.

"Kabuterimon Digivolve to: MegaKabuterimon!"

"Birdramon Digivolve to: Garudamon!"

"Horn Buster!" MegaKabuterimon shot a ray of electricity at Puppetmon severing his connection to, and over, WarGreymon. However, this also caused the wood Digimon to release his hammer, which was caught and destroyed by Garudamon.

"I-I'm not afwaid of you!" Puppetmon stuttered out as the Digimon all surrounded him, their partners right by their side. "I'ww g-get you!"

"I'd reconsider, if I were you," Tai glared at the marionette Digimon, stepping up next to WarGreymon.

Suddenly, Kagome gave a nearly inaudible gasp. An image of a frozen Puppetmon flashed before her eyes before the image switched to a large lion and a metal monkey.

_'What was that?'_ Kagome asked herself. _'Another vision? Is this going to be a regular thing?'_

"You're fools if you think I'd lose to a bunch of kids like you!" Puppetmon shouted. Suddenly, his eyes glowed a bright white.

Just then, a loud rumbling and groaning could be heard as Puppetmon's Mansion rose up from the ground, parts shifting to create what looked like a giant wooden fighter.

_'This looks a lot like one of those thing on the Super Sentai shows Tai likes to watch…'_ Kagome sweat-dropped.

"Ha ha haha ha!" Puppetmon snickered as he fled into the forest. "I have something you don't!"

Just then, the large house-robot took a step forward, nearly crushing Tai with its foot, had WarGreymon not stepped in. "Go! I've got it covered!"

Kari screamed as she got separated from Kagome and T.K in the rush to get away from the giant walking house. "Come on, Kari!" Tai shouted, picking his sister up into his arms as Angewomon held off the giant wooden hand from getting her partner.

It wasn't long before WarGreymon had to jump out of the way to avoid being squashed by the large foot while Angewomon was flicked away by a wooden finger.

"Wing Blade!" Garudamon sent a large firebird at the house, only for it to fizzle out the moment it hit the house, leaving no even a scratch behind.

"It didn't even leave a scratch!" Sora exclaimed.

"MegaKabuterimon!" Izzy shouted when his Digimon was backhanded away into a cluster of trees.

"Hurry and get away, you two!" Angemon shouted to Kagome and T.K.

"Right!" the young boy nodded. "Be careful!"

"Hold on tight, T.K!" Kagome shouted, picking the young blonde up into her arms as she ran for cover.

"Heaven's Gale!" Chirinmon flew high into the air before swooping down abruptly, his horn glowing along the way as he passed the giant structure they were all fighting. Unfortunately, the dragon-like Digimon's attack had little to no effect on the structure. Only a cut was left behind, but no more than that.

WarGreymon's grunt echoed around them all as he slashed at the giant house-robot, but like Chirinmon's attack, it left no more than a tiny scratch.

"How're we supposed to beat it if nothing's working?" T.K asked, his arms holding tight around Kagome's neck.

"I don't know…" Tai shook his head, arms full with his youngest sister. "Izzy?"

"I really don't know, Tai," Izzy said worriedly, "I know a lot, but even I can't tell how this can end. None of our Digimon's attacks are working on that thing and even then all that's being left behind are small cuts that don't really do much damage."

"Then does that mean we need to beat Puppetmon to get that thing to stop?" Sora asked.

Kagome opened her mouth to answer, when she felt two familiar auras nearby, very close to their own location, actually. "Guys, I think we won't have to worry about Puppetmon for long," she said, her mind flashing back to the image of a frozen Puppetmon.

"What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"Over there," Kagome nodded in the direction she felt the familiar auras. "Someone we know is getting rid of him as we speak."

"Let's go and check it out," Tai nodded to the group, walking through the cover of the trees to where a frozen Puppetmon laid, Matt and WereGarurumon standing next to the marionette Digimon's body.

They all watched as the wooden Dark Master dissolved into tiny particles. AT the same time, the Digimon backed away from the now crumbling house-robot.

"Matt?" Tai asked. "Is that really you?"

"Thanks for your help!" Sora said gratefully.

Matt looked up, startled at the group before him before looking away, grimacing a little, still feeling guilty over what he's done before. The blonde turned to walk away but glanced back once more, his eyes softening at the sight of his brother, safe and sound in Kagome's arms. That done, the blonde preteen went on ahead with WereGarurumon following him.

"Matt," T.K whispered.

The rest of the group watched with sad eyes as their friends disappeared into the forest. "I really did hope he'd stay with us this time," Tai sighed.

"Give him some time," Kari told her brother, "Everyone needs to be alone sometimes."

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began trembling violently as it cracked and shifted. "It's the forest!" Izzy shouted. "Now that Puppetmon's gone, it's disappearing!"

"Let get out of here and to a safe place!" Tai said, climbing onto MegaKabuterimon's back with Kari and Izzy. Kagome and T.K climbed onto Chirinmon as Sora onto Garudamon while Angemon and Angewomon flew behind them all.

Quickly, the DigiDestined and their Digimon flew away from the Forest region, watching as it dissipated and the green strip on Spiral Mountain disappeared as well.

"So where to now?" Kagome called out to Tai.

"What's left to go to?" Sora asked.

"Puppetmon was in charge of the Forest Domain as MetalSeadramon was connected to the Ocean Domain," Izzy told them, "All that's left is the Urban-Desert and the Wastelands!"

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	13. Book One: Unexpected Circumstances

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

**PLEASE READ BEFORE BEGINNING!**

AN: This isn't going to be very long since the way I'd originally planned it wouldn't have made much sense, so the only reason for this being short would be because of how the story is to be arranged. So please don't think too much of it!

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

Oh, and one more thing: As nice as it is to get the reviews, just telling me to update won't really do much good; I'd like it if there were some comments on what was liked or disliked about the chapter in particular. I'm not saying that I'll include details or certain things to cater to the reviewer/readers' preferences; no, I'll write as I have been so far as it is my story, though the categories in question don't belong to me. But it's nice to hear opinions on what was good about the chapter once in a while instead of just a vague 'please update' or something of the like, which really doesn't give any author much to work with; it can also get a little more that just redundant, making it seem as though the review was given just for the sake for sending in a review, giving no indication as to whether or not the reader even liked the chapter or the story.

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-Unexpected Circumstances-Xx**

"We landed on this road," Tai groaned, "But does this thing go anywhere?"

After the disappearance of the Forest region, the DigiDestined had landed on a lone road in the middle of a desert and were now walking on it, trying to find even a hint of civilization.

"Kari?" Kagome said quietly, lookig down at her sister, as sh walked by her side, "are you all right?"

"I'm," Kari coughed, "I'm fine. Don't worry."

Kagome stopped the young girl and knelt before her, putting a hand across Kari's forehead and comparing it to her own temperature only to find that her little sister was burning up. "Tai!" Kagome shouted worriedly. "It's Kari!"

"Kari?" Tai looked back to his sisters and found Kagome holding an exhausted Kari in her arms. "Kari!"

The group looked back tot eh small girl and suddenly found themselves worried when they saw the deep-red flush running across her cheeks.

"There's a rest stop just a little bit ahead," Biyomon pointed to a small shaded area a few kilometers from their position.

Kagome and Tai nodded as the sibling ran ahead, concern for their sister ruling over every other thing in their minds, with the rest of the group right behind them.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"She has a really high fever," Kagome said worriedly, placing a damp handkerchief on the young girl's forehead. Once they'd reached the rest stop, T.K offered his backpack as a pillow for Kari and laid the girl on the bench, using T.K's offered backpack. "We need to get her temperature down, and fast!"

"We need to get her out of the sun," Sora looked up into the sky, shielding her eyes from the bright heat.

"Don't worry," Gatomon said, ears wilting, "I won't leave you."

Kari opened her eyes and gave a weak nod to her Digimon. "Thanks…"

"Why didn't you say something?" Tai asked his sister gently. "If we knew sooner, we could've rested until you felt better!"

"You mad?" Kari asked hoarsely. "I**-cough-**didn't want to slow**-cough-**everyone down…"

"I'm not mad," Tai denied. "How could I be?" It was then as he watched his young sister that his eyes glazed over. _'It's like that time all over again…'_

"Silly," Kagome stroked her sister's hair. "You wouldn't have slowed anyone down. Your health is more important…" she turned to Biyomon and Tentomon. "Biyomon, Tentomon, could I ask a favour of you?"

The two named Digimon looked to their partners who nodded to them before turning to the raven-haired girl and gave another nod.

"Can the two of your scout ahead and see if you can find some form of civilization?" Kagome asked. "Kari can't stay out in the sun or this desert any longer or her condition'll just get worse."

"You got it!" Biyomon nodded, taking flight.

"We'll be back in a jiffy!" Tentomon saluted before following the pink-bird Digimon. "Hey! Wait for me!"

That done, Tai and Izzy stepped away from the rest to speak with each other about their options.

"What do you think they're talkin' about?" T.K asked, looking to the auburn-haired genius.

"They're probably thinking of finding some way to help Kari," Sora answered.

"Or Tai's just blaming himself again," Kagome said softly.

The orange-haired girl the young blonde looked over to the raven-haired girl. "What do you mean?" Sora asked.

"This always happens," Kagome shook her head lightly. "Anytime Kari or I get sick or hurt, he'll beat himself up for not noticing sooner or for not being there for us. It's always been that way since—"

"We found something!" Biyomon shouted flying onto the scene.

"It's a huge city a few miles off from here!" Tentomon added. "We're saved!"

"Then let's go!" Tai nodded. He glanced at a feverish Kari. "We don't have any time to waste!"

"Go, Tentomon!" Izzy told to his partner.

"You, too, Biyomon!" Sora nodded to her partner, an idea popping into her head.

"Tentomon Digivolve to: Kabuterimon!"

"Biyomon Digivolve to: Birdramon!"

One by one they all piled onto the large insectoid Digimon with Birdramon above them, shielding them from the glaring sun.

"There it is!" Kabuterimon announced when they found themselves flying over a long bridge connecting to a huge urban city. "You wanted civilization; well, it doesn't get any more civilized than this!"

The humans of the group looked down at the large city and blinked in confusion as they gasped in awe.

"But his makes no sense!" Sora exclaimed, blinking. "That's New York City!" she pointed to the Empire State Building. "But that isn't," she added, seeing a different building she didn't recognize.

"That's Rome," Izzy clarified, "I recognize it from one o our geography lessons."

"And that's the Arc de Triomphe in Paris!" Kagome pointed out.

"They're all smooshed together like that theme park in Florida," Tai said.

"Except that place isn't deserted like it is here," Sora indicated the empty roads and quiet environment. "Look, there's not a single sign of life anywhere!"

Kari whimpered, slumping into her siblings. "Izzy, Kari's getting worse, we need to land!"

"Oh right!" Izzy snapped out of his astonishment at practically the entire world being jumbled into one place. He began looking around for a quiet place that would help Kari get better.

"Look!" Sora pointed to a lone chateau in the midst of a quiet garden a little bit away from the urban portion of the city. "That looks like a good place to land."

Kabuterimon landed and De-Digivolved back to Tentomon as the children slid off his back, Tai carrying Kari this time.

"There," the brown-haired preteen said, as he placed Kari into a bed and tucked her in. He turned to Kagome and Sora, the two of you stay here and look after her while the rest of us'll go an dsearch the house for some medicince to help."

The girls nodded as Sora pulled up a chair to Kari's bedside and Kagome sat beside her sister, stoking her hair. They watched as Tai, Izzy, and T.K ran out of the room with their partner to start scaouring the house for something that could help with the young girl's fever.

"Sora!" Biyomon said, carrying in a bowl. "I found this, can we use it?"

"Yeah," the orange-haired girl nodded. "Go and fill it up with cold water, at least with that we can try and bring down Kari's fever as much as we can manually."

"You, too," Kagome told Kudamon, "Go on and help Biyomon."

The fox-like Digimon nodded and zipped away after the pink-bird Digimon.

"Kari's gonna be okay, right?" Gatomon asked morosely.

"With enough rest," Sora nodded.

Just then, Biyomon and Kudamon came back into the room with the bowl the pink-bird have found now full with cool water.

"Okay, just put it over there and Kagome and I can take over from there," the orange-haired girl nodded to the nightstand beside Kagome.

The raven-haired girl took a handkerchief from her pouch and dipped it in the water, making sure to squeeze it out just enough before placing it over Kari's forehead; hoping that it would ease the young girl's condition even if a bit.

"Hey, how is she?" Tai asked, running back into the room, T.K, Izzy and their partners behind him.

"Not much better than before," Kagome shook her head. "But with enough rest, she should be fine and hopefully the fever will break."

"Did you find anything?" Sora asked. "There's water here, but so far, we haven't really found much to work with."

Tai shook his head. "The house is practically empty. There're boxes and jars, but they're all empty with nothing, not even a speck inside as if there never was anything to begin with." He placed ahand on Kari's head. "Listen, Kari needs the medicine and we can't find anything in here, so Izzy and I'll be going out into the city with Agumon and Tentomon to look for some medicine to help Kari; even if she's getting rest, the medcine'll help a lot."

"Then can I go with ya, Tai?" T.K asked. "I wanna help and I promise I won't get in the way!"

The brown-haired preteen shook his head. "No, I need you to stay here, T.K. You're may last line of defense here. The girls'll be busy trying to help Kari get better so you need to stay and protect them. What if another Dark Master barges in? They'll need all the help they can get."

T.K mulled the older boy's words around in his head for a moment before nodding determinedly. "You can count on me!"

"Thanks, buddy," Tai grinned lightly, patting the young boy on his head. He turned to his sister and placed a hand on her head as well. "Stay safe, the both you, 'kay?"

"We will," Sora nodded, "And don't worry, Kari's safe with us."

"I know," Tai nodded. He turned to Izzy, Tentomon, and Agumon. "Let's go!"

"Right!" the other three nodded, running after the brown-haired preteen.

"There they go," T.K said, watching their silhouettes until they disappeared in the distance.

"Hey, Kagome?" Sora asked, replacing the cloth on Kari's forehead after dampening it once more.

"Hm?" Kagome hummed.

"What were you going to say before?" the orange-haired girl asked. "About why Tai was so overprotective?"

T.K turned around at this, still staying by window to watch out for anyone coming their way, but looked to the girls to listen to what Kagome was saying.

Kagome's face grew somber. "I don't know the whole story because I was away at my Grandmama's house; she'd gotten sick and since Mama and Papa couldn't go to help Gandpapa out, I asked if I could go and they pulled me out of school so I could. But I know that Kari had gotten sick, she was about four, maybe five back then; but she's always had a weak body since she was little. Tai came home from school, and like any kid, all he wanted was to play outside."

"But?" Sora prompted gently.

"But he didn't want to leave Kari home alone," Kagome gave a sad smile, "So he took her with him. I don't know what happened next; only that Kari was taken to the hospital because she'd gotten worse. Tai blamed himself for what happened then and always made sure to be there for Kari and I no matter what it took."

"Did something happen to you, too?" Biyomon asked.

"What do mean?" Kagome looked at the pink-bird Digimon.

"I think she's asking if something similar happened to you for Tai to grow so protective," Kudamon clarified.

"You know," Kagome said, replacing the cloth on Kari's forehead, "I don't think I remember. But anyway, apparently Kari apologized to Tai for something that wasn't her fault, she apologized because she thought she disappointed him. But that's the way Kari's always been; she's always thinking of other before herself."

"Just like you," Sora smiled at the raven-haired girl.

"Huh?" Kagome tilted her head curirously.

"She's right," T.K nodded, "You're always taking care of everyone and making sure they're okay."

"And not once have you ever complained," Kudamon added.

"I think you rubbed off onto Kari," Biyomon observed.

"Uh-oh!" T.K exclaimed when he saw a large reddish-dragon Digimon fly overhead. "Guys we need to get out of here!"

"What?" Sora asked worriedly. "Why?"

"I don't know who they are, but those Digimon don't look so nice!" Patamon added, seeingan exact coy of the Digimon T.K had seen, only in grey.

"We'd better go, then," Kagome nodded. She picked Kari up into her arms and ran out after T.K, Sora, Patamon and Biyomon, Kudamon wrapped around her arm.

"I think you'd better digivolve," T.K looked to his partner as they ran out of the chateau.

"You got it!" Patamon nodded determinedly. "Patamon Digivolve to: Angemon!"

"Let's get inside," Sora ushered them into a nearby building, Angemon included.

"Hey!" Biyomon exlciamed. "Look, it's Tai and Izzy! They're headed straight for the house!"

"And they're about to get hit by one of those rocket things!" T.K added. "Angemon!"

"Hand of Fate!" the angel Digimon launched his attack, destroying the rocket that had nearly hit Tai, Izzy, and their partners.

"Hi there!" T.K popped his head through the bushes.

"Miss us?" Biyomon popped her head through next with Gatomon following soon after..

"You're okay!" tai said in relief.

"Actually, you look better than okay," Izzy grinned.

"T.K saw the Digimon headed our way so we thought we'd get out," Sora explained.

"And I lead and the way and took care of everyone, just like you told me to!" T.K piped up.

"Great job, buddy," Tai nodded proudly. "I never doubted you for one second."

Suddenly, a large gold-hued laser struck the ground before them, uprooting the concrete and asphalt.

"It's Machinedramon!" Izzy exclaimed.

"You can't rely on scrap metal if you want the job done right," the metal-mutant Digimon said in a maleovent, but hoarse voice.

"Take cover!" Tai ordered. Doing as they were told, they all ran into the building the latter half was hiding in before.

"That's right," they heard Machinedramon say, "scurry away, after all, the chase is only part of the fun! Giga Cannon!"

The next thing they knew, the entire building came crashing down and the children along with their Digimon were plunged into a dark void.

"Tai!" Kagome and a now conscious but weak Kari reached out of their brother.

"Kari! Kagome!" Tai shouted.

* * *

"What happened?" Kagome groaned, sitting up.

"You're awake!" T.K tackled the raven-haired girl back to the ground. "We were really worried!"

"I'm okay," Kagome assured the young boy, "But what happened? Where's Kari? And the others?"

"We got separated," Gatomon answered from where she sat by Kari, who lay fast asleep, "Again…"

"Kari hasn't woken up yet, though," T.K said glumly. "But Patamon's looking for any of the others…"

Kagome smiled at the young boy for his concern and rubbed his cheek comfortingly. "Don't worry; if she's sleeping, then that's a good thing."

"But I don't think sleeping this much is normal for humans, is it?" Gatomon asked when Kagome and T.K came to sit next to the dozing girl.

Kagome nodded. "It's true that humans don't sleep as much as Kari has, but you need to remember that she's sick. Human bodies need rest in order to get better and so we sleep a lot to get that rest so we can get better. We're just lucky that her fever didn't escalate, or we'd be dealing with a very sick Kari that wouldn't wake up for a while."

"But she'll wake up soon?" T.K asked.

"As long as we don't disturb her," Kudamon said from his position around Kagome's neck.

Just then a drop of water fell upon the young girl's cheek.

"I think that woke her," Gatomon's ears twitched when she heard a small moan come from her partner.

"Or she could just wake up now," Kudamon shook his head, watching as the young girl sat up.

"Hit the snooze button," Kari smiled lightly, "just one more time, please?"

"You've slept enough," T.K grinned. "How do you feel?"

"Here, let me take a look," Kagome placed a hand on Kari's forehead and found that her temperature had decreased dramatically, though she was still a tad warm. "You seem better, but we'd still better be careful."

"How long was I asleep?" the young girl asked.

"Let's just say that when you went to sleep I had nine lives," the feline Digimon drawled, "and now I have three."

Suddenly, just like before an image of Matt and a cave flashed before her eyes. _'Okay, so I'm getting used to this, but why that particular vision? Is something going to happen to the three of them? Oh I hope not…'_

"Hey!" T.K looked up excitedly. "I hear Patamon!"

"That's good," Gatomon commented, "I wonder who he found."

"It's Biyomon and Sora," Kudamon announced.

"You're awake, Kari!" Sora said relieved. "And you're okay, too, Kagome! Thank goodness…"

"Did you find Tai and the others?" Kari asked.

Sora's smile dimmed and she shook her head. "I've tried, but I couldn't find anyone. My guess is that when he fell, Tai and Izzy must have landed somewhere else." Biyomon suddenly nudged her partner. "Oh, that's right. Look at what we found; it's the medicine Tai was going to bring you."

Sora placed the bottle in Kari's hands. "Keep it with you just in case we really do need it again. Or if you want, keep it as a reminder of just how much Tai loves you."

"This place has a lot of twists and turns!" Biyomon exclaimed. "It's like amaze down here, but I'm sure that if stick together, we'll find the others with no problem."

"Okay," Kari nodded. "I'll do my best to stay strong and keep up. After all, Tai would do the same for us, right?" she looked up at her sister.

Kagome smiled and ruffled the young girl's hair. "Right."

That said, the group began walking, keeping extra care to make sure they were all still together.

"This place is like a museum of the famous sewer systems of the world," Sora commented.

"I think I'll pass on the odor exhibit," Gatomon waved her paw in front of her nose.

"Too late for that!" Patamon said as he pinched his nose shut.

Kagome giggled. "But if you look at it, it looks like an entire city down here. Think about it, we could call it something like…Stink City?"

The group had a good laugh at that as the continued walking until Sora and Kagome stopped. The two preteens looked at each other and nodded. They both seemed to have heard the very same noise.

"What's wrong?" T.K asked.

"Hush," Kagome told the two young children. "Listen, do you hear that?"

"It sounds like it's coming from over there," Sora lead the group through an archway leading to a high platform above a large room full of Numemon hooked onto machines while a large black teddy bear Digimon stood in the centre of the room, cracking his whip to 'encourage' the small green Digimon to work harder.

"Isn't that Monzaemon?" T.K asked softly. "What happened to him? He used to be so cute and cuddly!"

"That's not Monzaemon, T.K," Patamon warned. **"That's WaruMonzaemon and he's about as cuddly as a porcupine! His Bear Claw attack would give as much heartburn as his Heartbreak Attack!"**

"He's torturing those poor Numemon down there," Biyomon said worriedly.

_'There's got to be something we can do,'_ Kagome looked down at the small Digimon slaving away under the orders of the large black teddy bear Digimon.

Kari looked down at the scene with sad eyes. "We can't just leave them down there! We need to get them out! If we had more power…"

Suddenly, Kari collapsed, her body glowing with a bright white hue. "Kari!" Kagome gathered the young girl into her lap.

"What the—The DigiDestined!" WaruMonzaemon dropped his whip.

"Uh-oh! He knows we're here!" Sora exclaimed.

"Run!" Biyomon shouted, the group turning back to where they'd entered from.

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed!" WaruMonzaemon cackled as he followed after the children and their Digimon, never noticing that two of the group he was pursuing weren't there.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Kagome, Sora, and T.K all made faces at the bear Digimon that was after them. "Catch us if you can, you overgrown throw rug!"

A tick mark appeared on WaruMonzaemon's forehead. "I'll get you if it's the last thing I do!"

"Biyomon Digivolve to—Hey! What just happened?" Biyomon looked down at herself, surprised that she didn't digivolve as she'd hoped she would've.

"Patamon Digivolve to—Me? Uh-oh…" Patamon flew faster behind the group when he, too, realized that he wouldn't be able to digivolve.

"You must be low on energy!" Sora exclaimed.

"Then what do we do now?" T.K asked.

"Running would be a good idea!" Kagome answered.

_'I hope Kari's doing a lot better than we are now!'_ Kagome thought frantically.

The group ran until they hit a dead end and turned around only to find WaruMonzaemon advancing upon them, his arm raised. "Bear Claw!" He shot his hand at the DigiDestined and their partners, but to his dismay, they only dodged under him, leaving his arm embedded in the wall.

"Come on!" Sora shouted. "Let's go while we have a chance!"

Kudamon readied himself to attempt to digivolve when Kagome stopped running, a pulse running through her. "Kagome?" he looked at his partner worriedly.

"What's going on?" Kagome whispered, feeling the pulse run through her body over and over again as the image of Matt and the cave flashed before her eyes. "Matt? There's something wrong with him?"

"Kagome?" T.K asked, when he noticed the raven-haired girl just standing there, eyes glazed over. "Kagome what's goin' on? Sora, there's somethin' wrong with Kagome!"

"What?" the orange-haired girl made her way to the raven-haired girl. "Kagome, what's the matter? We don't have time to just stand around like this!" She tried pulling on her arm, but to no avail, it seemed that Kagome was rooted to that spot.

"Look at her eyes!" Patamon pointed out suddenly.

At this, the group turned to look at the raven-haired girl's icy-blue orbs, only to find them blank and glowing brightly. "Kagome?" Kudamon asked gently.

"Digivolve, Kudamon," Kagome said in a voice that sounded layered and mature. "We must go…"

"But where—" Kudamon tried asking, but was cut off by the raven-haired girl.

"To where the place where he resides and despair rules over his mind," Kagome spoke as though in a trance, "That is our destination."

Helpless, Kudamon looked at T.K, Sora, and their partners for help. "What do I do?" he asked softly.

Sora quickly glanced at WaruMonzaemon and saw him still attempting to get his arm out from the wall, which gave them a little more time to spare. She turned back to their raven-haired companion and her Digimon. "I think whatever is happening to Kagome has to do with that gift that dragon gave her," Sora mused.

"We know she can feel auras," Biyomon added. "But what's going on with her now?"

"I don't know," Sora shook her head, "But it's probably important." She looked at the fox-like Digimon and nodded. "Digivolve and take her to where she wants to go; it's probably the only way to get _our_ Kagome back."

Kudamon nodded determinedly. "Kudamon Digivolve to: Reppamon!"

Reppamon knelt down and watched as his partner climbed up into his back, grasping his rope-collar tightly. "Go," the raven-haired girl said softly.

And with that said, Reppamon zipped off, heading straight for another spot on the wall WaruMonzaemon had his arm stuck in. "Sky Fissure!" the blow of his tail to the bricks, blasted the wall apart, leaving behind a large enough gap for Reppamon to sprint through.

_'I hope you know what you're doing, Kagome…'_ Sora thought, looking back towards the hole in the wall as she, T.K, Patamon, and Biyomon resumed their feeling from the giant black bear Digimon.

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	14. Book One: The Jester's Final Performance

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!**

AN: Well, the end of the first half is nearing…I just can't believe Adventure 1 is already done…

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-The Jester's Final Performance-Xx**

"Stop," Kagome told Reppamon as they stopped in front of a cave. "He's in there…"

"Who?" Reppamon asked.

"He who has allowed despair to take hold of his heart and soul," Kagome answered, still in the layered, but matured voice.

"Should we go in?" the masked Digimon asked.

His only response was a light pat on top of his head. Reppamon took this as a 'yes' and stepped into the cave cautiously.

_'Where could this lead to?'_ the Digimon thought to himself. _'Better yet, who is Kagome looking for?'_

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a beam of light shot itself from Kagome's crest straight into the cave, much deeper than where they were at the moment.

"Kagome?" Reppamon asked, stopping from surprise. "What was that?"

"Help," was all the raven-haired girl said.

"Should I go on?" the masked Digimon asked hesitantly. The entire cave seemed to be giving off a sort of dark feel that made the Digimon highly uncomfortable.

"No need," Kagome replied, "His heart has let go and his soul is cleansed."

_'Who is he, anyway?'_ the Digimon wondered. _'It has to be someone we know or she probably wouldn't be like this. But why is she in a trance in the first place? Was there something else about her gift she didn't tell us?'_

Just as she said that, the cave began to ripple before disappearing with a 'swoosh', as though it were never there in the first place. It was then that Reppamon found out just who Kagome had been speaking of.

Matt and Gabumon stood there a few metres away from them, looking around in confusion.

"Uh correct me if I'm wrong on this one," Gabumon spoke, "But weren't we just in a big, dark cave a minute ago?"

"Yeah," Matt looked around, "We were completely lost." His cobalt eyes continued to gaze around at his surroundings until they landed on Reppamon with Kagome on his back just a little bit away from them. "And I definitely don't remember Kagome and Reppamon being here…"

The blonde and his Digimon stood there, watching as the masked Digimon and his partner came up to them. "Hey, guys, what are you doing here?" Matt asked.

"To find you, I assume," Reppamon replied. "Though it was Kagome who did everything…I was only the transport."

"Kagome?" Gabumon said worriedly. "Kagome!" The striped Digimon turned to Reppamon. "What's wrong with Kagome?"

Matt looked up at the raven-haired girl at this and gasped when he saw the brightly glowing icy orbs. _'Something's not right…'_

The masked Digimon shook his head when both Digimon and partner looked up at his own. His voice was somber as he spoke of what had happened and how he and Kagome came to be there.

"Unfortunately, I don't know what caused this and I don't know how to snap her out of it," Reppamon finished.

"Hey! Matt!" Came a familiar voice.

They all turned in the direction of the sound and saw the lanky figure of Joe Kido running up to them, waving his arms. "Over here!"

"Joe?" Matt said, surprised. _'What's _he_ doing here? I thought he was with the others?'_

No one noticed how Kagome had snapped out of whatever trance she'd been in, her eyes no longer glowing. _'What's going on? And where the heck are we? Where are Kari and Tai?'_

The blue-haired teen came to a stop in front of Matt, bending over to catch his breath. Suddenly, Joe stood up straight and burst out into laughter, leaving the preteens confused.

"I told you I would find him!" the blue-haired teen exclaimed to Gomamon.

"I never doubted you for one minute," the white Digimon replied.

"What's going on?" Kagome asked slowly.

"You're back!" Reppamon sighed in relief.

"I didn't realize I went anywhere," Kagome said lightly. "Speaking of, where are we? I thought we were being chased up and down a sewer by WaruMonzaemon?"

"I'll explain later," Kudamon said once he de-digivolved, "But just know that it's a relief to have you back with us."

"Are you alright?" Gabumon asked Kagome while Matt and Joe spoke to each other.

"A little tired, but other than that I'm fine," Kagome assured the striped Digimon.

"Oh, hi, Kagome," Joe said, finally spotting the raven-haired girl. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with Tai and the others?"

"I don't know why I'm here, but I could say the same for yourself, can't I?" Kagome returned. "Weren't you supposed to be with Mimi?"

"I was, but I left to find Matt when we found Elecmon with his harmonica," Joe replied.

"So you left Mimi alone?" Gabumon asked.

Joe shook his head. "Nope. You see, while Mimi and I were traveling, we met up with Ogremon and Leomon again, but Leomon was badly hurt from an attack MetalEtemon sent at Mimi. Anyway, after Ogremon joined us, we found Gekomon and Otamamon who came along with us, too. Eventually, we just started going around trying to find any Digimon left out there willing to help us fight the Dark Masters."

"MetalEtemon?" Matt blinked.

"Yeah," the blue-haired boy shook his head. "A real big mess right there. It turns out that when MetalGreymon destroyed Etemon, his data scattered, but he kept a good hold on it until he leveled up to Mega, which is when he decided to come back and get revenge on us for having a hand in his defeat."

"What kind of Digimon was he?" Kagome asked suspiciously. She'd already deduced that Leomon must have been the lion Digimon she saw in a previous vision, but she didn't know who the second was. However, from what Joe was saying, she felt that MetalEtemon just might be the second Digimon.

Joe looked at Kagome for a moment before shaking his head. "Sorry, I keep forgetting that you weren't there with us when Etemon was around. MetalEtemon's a metal monkey with a huge Elvis complex."

_'At least I know who the gaudy looking monkey was now,'_ Kagome thought dryly.

"Sora!" Came a faint shout. "SORA!"

"That sounds like T.K!" Gabumon's ears perked up.

"Then let's go!" Kagome told them, running in the direction of where the young boy's voice was coming from.

"T.K!" Matt shouted to his little brother when the young boy in green came into view.

"Hey, that sounds like Matt," T.K said happily.

"It sure does!" Matt grinned, kneeling on the round to take his brother into his arms.

"Oh, Matt," T.K hugged his brother as tightly as his little arms allowed, "Where've ya been? I was really worried!"

"Sorry, T.K," the older blonde apologized, "I just needed time to get my head straight. But I promise that I'll never leave you again."

"You look…different, Matt," T.K tilted his head. "Did you cut your hair or something?"

"No," Matt chuckled, "I just haven't been using as much gel."

"T.K," Kagome spoke up, "Where is everybody? You didn't get separated, did you?"

"Kagome!" the young blonde exclaimed. "You're back to normal!" He turned around in Matt's arms and held them out to the raven-haired girl.

The raven-haired preteen gave a light smile as she stepped forward to gave the young boy a tight hug. "I'm sorry if I scared you, T.K, but now isn't the time for that. Where is everyone?"

"Tai and the others are up on Spiral Mountain fighting Piedmon; he told me and Sora to get you guys to go there," T.K reported. "But some black thing got Sora and pulled her into that hole!"

"What?" Joe ran up to the edge of said hole. "Is she okay?"

"Hey, Matt," Gabumon looked up at his partner, "Doesn't this remind you of anything?"

"Yeah," Matt nodded, "It looks exactly like that cave we were lost in before. The same black thing must've gotten Sora!"

"You've seen it?" T.K looked up at his brother.

"We can't just stay up here chatting," Joe looked into the hole, "We've gotta help her!"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Somehow, I don't have a good feeling about this," Joe said nervously as they all climbed down the sides of the hole as carefully as they could.

"It was your idea," Kagome reminded the older boy. "But I understand what you're getting at; this place doesn't feel right…"

"I'm scared," T.K whimpered.

"It's all right," Matt soothed, "just don't look down and you won't have to be scared, just remember to stick together and we'll all be okay. I realized that it was your fear and sadness that feeds this darkness."

"That's easy for _you_ to say!" T.K retorted.

_'It's just like last time,'_ Kudamon thought as he kept himself wrapped securely around Kagome's neck. _'Only, it seems that while Kagome feels the darkness, she doesn't remember what happened.'_

The group continued to climb down until Joe suddenly lost his footing, causing him to land on his bottom with a sound 'thump'. Luckily they weren't too far from the bottom of the hole, so Joe had only fallen from about six or seven inches from the ground.

"You okay?" Matt asked the blue-haired teen.

"I'm fine," Joe waved off the concern, "Luckily, I landed on the one part of my body that has built-in airbags."

"Very funny," Matt said sarcastically.

"Careful now," Kagome said reaching her hands up to guide T.K down when she stood firmly on the dirt floor.

"So which way do we go?" T.K asked, looking both ways, finding that the cave extended into two different directions. "How do we find Sora?"

It was then that Kagome's crest lit up once more, though this time no light shot out of it. Unnoticed by anyone other than her own partner, Kagome's eyes began glowing once more as she walked into the cave extending on their left.

"Kagome?" Matt asked, walking up to the raven-haired girl. "What was—" he cut himself off when he noticed the preteen's glowing eyes.

"Uh-oh," T.K murmured. "She's doin' it again…"

"This happened before?" Joe asked.

T.K nodded. "One minute we're running through the sewers from WaruMonzaemon and the next, Kagome's eyes get all glowy and she just leaves. We don't know why, but Sora thought it might be because of her gift."

"Hey, listen!" Patamon spoke up. "I hear someone talking."

"Sora!" Came Biyomon's voice. "Please tell me what's wrong! Sora!"

"That's Biyomon!" Gomamon said running ahead with T.K and Patamon. "And where one is, that's where the other'll be!"

The group ran ahead towards Biyomon's voice with Matt and Joe having to pull Kagome along with them.

"Sora!" they heard Biyomon shout once more.

"Hang on, Biyomon!" T.K called out. "We're comin'!"

They all came to a stop before a worried Biyomon standing next to Sora who was surrounded by a dark glow sitting with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, her faces hidden within them.

"Hey, Sora, come on," Matt said, trying to jostle the girl. But when that didn't work, he gently grabbed a hold of her arm and tried pulling her up. "It's time to get up, Sora."

The blonde shook his head after a few failed attempts. "I can't pull her up, it looks like she's stuck or something."

"Stuck?" Joe blinked. "Here, let me help." He walked over and took one arm while Matt took the other.

"On the count of three," Matt nodded.

"One…"

"…Two…"

"…Three!" The two boys pulled as hard as they could on Sora's arms, but the orange-haired girl just didn't budge, no matter how hard or much they tried.

"What's wrong with her?" the young blonde asked after Matt and Joe failed to pull the orange-haired girl up.

"That which strengthens this darkness holds her heart and soul," Kagome spoke.

"And that's supposed to mean…?" Gomamon said slowly.

"She means that Sora is lost in her own fear and doubt," Kudamon clarified.

"Just like me," Matt muttered.

"Hey, I think she's sayin' somethin'," T.K said putting his head closer to the orange-haired girl.

One by one everyone quieted as they listened for whatever it was that T.K had heard. For a few moments, they began to think that she'd said nothing at all and that T.K was just mistaken. But soon enough, they heard soft mumbling that grew louder and louder with each second that passed.

"I have to find Matt, Kagome, Mimi, and Joe," Sora mumbled, "I have to help Tai or the world will be destroyed! There's no place like home. There's no place like home…"

"That's all she's saying now," Biyomon said anxiously. "She won't even talk to me anymore! It's like she doesn't even _see_ me!"

"Sora," Joe placed his hands on the girl's shoulder and jostled her a bit. "It's me, Joe. I'm right here, and so are Matt and Kagome!"

Slowly, Sora lifted her head, though her eyes were a blank maroon. "Joe? You're really here…And Matt and Kagome are with you, too…"

"Just relax," Matt soothed, "Everything's gonna be just fine."

"I'm afraid not," Sora said desolately, "I haven't be trying hard enough. I have to get to Tai right away and help him fight, because if I don't, the world will be completely destroyed!"

"Sora!" Joe all but shouted. "You can't believe that you're responsible for saving the world!"

"Sora, you have to realize how strong your negative feelings are," Matt tried reasoning with the orange-haired preteen. "They produce a powerful destructive energy. Sora, it's the darkness in your heart that created the cave in the first place! Don't you get it?"

"Really?" Joe looked up at Matt when he said this. "Is that why you told T.K not to be scared?"

Matt knelt down before the girl. "Sora, listen to me; There's only one way to make this cave disappear. You've got to reach deep into your heart and erase all of your negative feelings. It's the only way!"

No one noticed how Kagome's crest began to glow brighter with each passing moment with Joe's and Matt's individual crests glowing as well. Suddenly, a bolt of light shot out from the raven-haired girl's crest to engulf Matt, Joe, and Sora.

* * *

-Inside Sora's Mind-

_"I don't know if I can," Sora spoke, "What should I do?"_

_"That's something you need to figure out for yourself," Matt answered as he delved deep into the orange-haired girl's mind to reach her. "Sora, this isn't the kind of thing you do because you have to. If you're going to do it, then it has to be because you _want_ to."_

_"You mean if I don't want to, I don't have to?" Sora asked._

_Matt nodded, "That's right. It'll only work if _you_ want to do it."_

_"But I'm confused," Sora shook her head, "How will I know what the right thing to do is?"_

_"When our whole adventure started, do you think we had any idea what the right thing to do was?" Joe asked as he joined Matt to help bring Sora out. "Of course not; But that didn't stop us, now did it? Maybe we're here for a reason. Maybe we're the only ones who can do it!"_

_A white aura engulfed Matt and Joe, adding to the golden glow that already enveloped them. "What's this?" Joe asked. "It feels warm and calm…"_

_"I think it's Kagome," Matt said in realization, "The same thing happened when I was stuck inside my cave; she helped Gabumon pull me out of my darkness and now she's helping us to get Sora out of her own!"_

_"We're the only ones who can make a difference," Sora said._

_"We're getting through to her!" Joe grinned._

_"We're the only ones," Sora said again, "That's why we're here!"_

_It was then that Matt and Joe reached the orange-haired girl, who'd already begun to unravel herself from the fetal position she'd been in. They grabbed her hands and the white-gold aura spread around Sora._

* * *

"I get it now!" Sora grinned up at her friends as they helped her up, her eyes no longer blank. "But, Matt, how did you know?"

"I kinda went through the same thing myself," Matt rubbed the back of his head.

T.K, while happy that his friend was better, was watching Kagome and how the bright glow of her icy eyes dimmed until they returned to their original cool hue.

Kagome blinked. "So did we help Sora? Is she going to be all right?"

_'She doesn't remember?'_ T.K thought in shock. "Yeah, she's okay, you, Matt, and Joe brought her back to normal."

It was then that the cave disappeared as quickly as it must have come.

"When the darkness in your heart disappeared," Matt explained, "So did the cave."

Sora's expression turned into alarm. "What are we doing? We can't just stand around here! Tai sent T.K and I to find you all! He's up at the top Spiral Mountain holding off Piedmon with WarGreymon!"

"Then let's get going!" Matt nodded.

* * *

-Sometime Later on Spiral Mountain-

"Tai! Where are you?!" Matt shouted as he sat atop Garurumon with T.K and Kagome beside him.

"Tai!" Sora shouted, clutching Birdramon's leg tightly.

_'Please let us get there on time…'_ Kagome prayed silently.

"He's over there!" Joe pointed at a few figures in the distance. He squinted to get a better look. "WarGreymon's down and so is Tai! It looks like Piedmon did a number on 'em!"

"Hang on, Buddy," Matt called out to the brown-haired preteen. "We're coming!"

"Just keep holding on, Tai!" Kagome yelled out to her brother worriedly.

It hadn't been even five minutes before the small group reached Tai. Matt and Kagome leapt down from Garurumon and hurried over to the fallen boy.

"Matt," Tai rasped, "You're here." He glanced around and saw Kagome _'And she's safe, too…'_

"Yeah," Matt nodded. "I'm here now, buddy."

T.K tried going forward, but found himself held back by Kagome. He looked up at the raven-haired girl in confusion. _'Why can't I go over to Matt and Tai?'_

"Matt and Tai have some things they need to get out of the way first," Kagome explained quietly. "We shouldn't get in between that."

"I never doubted you for a second," Tai managed to get out; "I know it didn't always seem that way, but I've always believed in you."

The blonde's eyes filled with tears. "Thanks, Tai; for believing in me. I'm just sorry that I was so late! Tai, you have to know, your friendship and everyone else's means a lot to me, more than I say it does. And I swear, nothing'll ever come between us again; not if I have anything to do about it."

It was then that Matt's crest glowed a bright blue hue, surprising everyone in the vicinity. They watched as Garurumon walked up to the fallen WarGreymon and nuzzled his head lightly before a multicoloured light engulfed the dragon-knight Digimon.

When the light died down, there stood WarGreymon, good as new, as though he'd never been injured in the first place.

"WarGreymon!" Tai's eyes widened.

"Now what?" Piedmon's smirk fell.

Garurumon looked at Matt before gesturing to WarGreymon. "Matt, your Crest of Friendship gave me strength and helped heal WarGreymon."

"Thank you," WarGreymon nodded at both Matt and Gabumon, "The both of you."

"Come on, guys!" They heard Izzy shout. "Get out of there!"

"Come on," Matt grunted, lifting Tai up and slinging on arm around his neck while Tai's other was slung over Joe's. Together, the two boys helped their third over to where Izzy and Kari were.

"You okay?" Joe asked.

"I think so," Tai said, slightly dazed.

"Kagome!" Kari tackled her sister in a tight hug. "You're okay!"

"Of course I am," Kagome said, slightly baffled. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"My first thought was to destroy you all together in one nice little package," Piedmon's smirk was back on his face, "But now, I believe I'd rather do it individually, so as to prolong your suffering a little longer!"

"You talk way too much for a clown!" Matt shouted at Piedmon.

"Silence, you insolent fool! Trump Sword!" The clown Digimon drew out four sharp swords and launched them at where Tai and the others were.

"Gabumon Warp Digivolve to: MetalGarurumon!"

"Now he'll see what we're made of!" Kari exclaimed from within her sister's arms, T.K standing beside the two.

"Terra Force!"

"Metal Wolf Claw!"

The attacks from both Mega Digimon merged together, in a dangerous swirling force of fire and ice, heading straight for Piedmon. The blast was so large that the swords Piedmon had launched were caught up in the merged attack and disintegrated before they could hit the children.

"They were able to break through Piedmon's attack!" Joe exclaimed. "All right!"

"Well ,well," Piedmon grinned maliciously after leaping over the remnants of the attack headed straight for him. "It's seems that I may have just found a worthy adversary…"

"We have two Mega Digimon on our side and he's only got himself," Tai announced. "It's time for this clown's final performance! Go WarGreymon!"

"You, too MetalGarurumon!" Matt ordered.

"So I'm a clown, am I?" Piedmon sneered. "Then I'll act like one! Clown Trick!" He formed a small ring of maroon fire with his hands. "Try jumping through this hoop!" He tossed the ring out towards the two Mega Digimon.

MetalGarurumon took a chance and leapt up towards Piedmon, but was caught within the ring the clown Digimon had created. The ring shrunk until it closed tightly around his midsection. The metal wolf Digimon struggled for a few moment, but to no avail and crashed to the ground instead, the ring dissipating with the harsh landing.

"Are you all right?" WarGreymon asked MetalGarurumon.

"Why don't you join us?" Piedmon asked mockingly. "We're having a _ball_!"

WarGreymon yelped as he found himself trying to balance atop a rather large green and red ball.

"Sorry if I caught you _off-balance_," Piedmon cackled, "Round and round he goes…where he lands, nobody knows!"

Unfortunately, the dragon-knight Digimon couldn't keep himself balanced and found himself falling off and crashing into the already fallen MetalGarurumon.

Piedmon couldn't resist and burst out laughing at the sight; what with his malicious sense of humor and all.

"This is just a game to him!" Izzy observed worriedly. "He's playing around with them like toys!"

"Well, I'm tired of playing around!" Tai growled.

"Hold on," Matt reasoned, "Let's not be hasty; He _wants_ us to make a mistake."

"What's the matter?" Piedmon asked. "Don't want to play with Uncle Piedmon anymore? Trump Sword!"

The children and the rest of the Digimon cried out when they saw Piedmon's swords heading for the two Mega Digimon, but gasped when they saw that not all the swords going around were solid; they were merely illusions.

"Some of those swords aren't even real!" Tai exclaimed.

"WarGreymon, I'm picking up the real swords on my sensors," MetalGarurumon reported, "Over to your right!"

"Cover me!" WarGreymon ordered as he headed for the swords his fellow Mega had indicated and blocked them with his gauntlets, shattering the swords into tiny shards that dissipated soon after.

"Metal Wolf Snout!" MetalGarurumon shot four energy beams from his snout at the remaining real swords, making them dissipate into tiny particles as well.

Piedmon's grin fell from his face as a furious growl slipped through his painted lips.

"Looks like the joke's on you, Piedmon," MetalGarurumon said mockingly, to which Piedmon only sneered.

WarGreymon took that time to attack. "Terra Force!" the great ball of energy hit the clown Digimon, sending him flying back a few metres with a shout.

"Nice shot!" Matt nodded.

"Izzy," Tai turned to the aurbun-haired genius. "Have everyone digivolve and attack!"

"Caution," an android Digimon known as Andromon spoke.

Piedmon stood with a curious look about his face as he held up a square piece of plain white cloth.

"A white flag?" Joe asked, perplexed. "Is he trying to surrender?"

"Someone like him won't go down that easily," Kagome said grimly. "He's probably got more tricks up his sleeve…"

The clown Digimon said nothing as he turned the cloth, showing his audience the front and back as an ordinary magician would.

"Playtime's over!" WarGreymon shouted running to Piedmon, MetalGarurumon right beside him.

"But I'm just getting started!" Piedmon smirked, holding the cloth aloft before tossing it down towards the approaching Mega Digimon.

Everyone watched in horrific awe as the cloth grew larger and larger until it was big enough to cover WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. The moment the cloth had covered the two Mega Digimon, lavender static ran across and over the fabric. When the currents died down, the cloth flopped to the ground as though nothing had been under it, the two Mega Digimon gone.

The children gaped at the sight and hadn't noticed that two of their own were gone until they heard their voices shout.

"WarGreymon!"

"MetalGarurumon!"

"No!" Sora shouted. "Come back; there's nothing we can do now!"

Piedmon only cackled before tossing down one more piece of cloth. Like before, it enlarged to fit over the two boys. Lavender static was once more seen as the cloth once again flopped to the ground, both boys gone as their Digimon were.

"What happened to them?" Kari asked worriedly.

"They just disappeared!" T.K exclaimed.

"Tada!" Piedmon hopped down to lift both pieces of cloth to reveal nothing left underneath. "Thank you for coming; next show's at seven-thirty. You've been a great crowd. Goodnight!"

"At least he didn't saw them in half," Tentomon commented, trying to lighten the mood a bit despite their situation.

"What did you do to them?!" Kagome all but shouted. "Where are they?!"

Piedmon's grin widened. "I hold the keys to their existence. And I need a place to put them, so I made a couple of _keychains_." He opened one hand to reveal two keychains that looked like Matt and Tai. "I was thinking that these would look nice hanging from my backpack!" he opened his other hand to reveal keychain figures of WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon.

"What kind of sicko turns people into keychains?" Sora asked, alarmed.

"The kind that aren't sane or good," Kagome muttered, looking at the four tiny figurines.

"Oh, but I'm not a 'sicko', as you say," Piedmon replied, "I'm a collector, and these new items hold such sentimental value to me." He laughed as he hooked the keychains onto his waist. "Now, who wants to be next?"

"Run!" Joe shouted.

No one could agree more as they all dashed away from Piedmon as fast as they could. "Quick," Andromon told them, "Into that cave!"

"But, Andromon—" Sora protested while everyone went inside.

"Don't worry!" Andromon nodded. "I'll hold him off for as long as I can."

"Come on," Kagome grabbed the orange-haired girl's hand and dragged her inside said cave. "I know you don't want to leave him behind, but we need to get away and he's offering us a way out! I don't like doing it anymore than you, but in this case we need to make exceptions!"

Sora looked back and watched in worry and fear as the android Digimon fought against Piedmon.

"Kagome's right!" Joe ran back to help pull Sora along. "Andromon's buying us more time and we should take advantage of it!"

The group ran until they reach the edge of a cliff in a large cavern with two trapeze swings hanging from the ceiling.

"What kind of place is this?!" Gomamon asked.

"It looks a lot like a circus tent," Sora said, looking up at the trapeze bars.

"Whatever it is, I don't like it," Izzy shook his head. "Hey, look! There's an exit over there!"

"But how do we get there?" Joe asked.

"The only way to get across is to swing," Tentomon flew across to the other side with Biyomon. "But don't look down, there's no net!"

_'And that's supposed to make us feel better?'_ Kagome's eyes twitched.

"Hold on tight, Kari," Gatomon told her partner as the girl wrapped her arms around her Digimon, "Don't let go!"

Gatomon leaped up and reached one of the trapeze bars and swung across to the other one before landing on the other side, setting Kari down safely before leaping back up to swing on the second bar to help the others across.

"Go, on T.K," Kagome helped the young boy onto the trapeze bar while Patamon flew across right beside him.

"What do you _have_ in that backpack?" Gatomon asked when she grabbed T.K and let him down beside Kari. "Bricks?"

"Go, Sora!" Joe urged the orange-haired girl on.

Sora nodded and leaped up to the first bar, swinging across before letting go to grab onto Gatomon. "Ow! Gatomon, you need to trim your claws!"

"You're up next, Kagome," the blue-haired teen told the raven-haired girl, "And here, take Gomamon with you! Now go!"

Kagome gave a nod as she leaped for the first bar, swinging across with Gomamon holding tight around her waist and Kudamon steadied around her neck and shoulders. She let go when she was close enough to Gatomon, grabbing onto the feline Digimon's paws before feeling herself being let down beside everyone else who'd made it across.

"Don't you want to take your friend along?" Piedmon asks, suddenly appearing behind Joe, who'd helped Izzy onto the trapeze bar, holding out a keychain of Andromon.

Unfortunately, before Joe could do anything, he was covered by the same white cloth from before and within seconds, he was gone and another keychain was added to Piedmon's collection.

"Joe!" Izzy shouted from the trapeze bar.

"Oh no you don't!" Piedmon threw out another piece of cloth, this time at Izzy.

"No!" Tentomon flew off to help his partner. "I'm coming, Izzy!"

Piedmon cackled as he threw off another piece of cloth, this time landing atop Tentomon. "Now you see them, and now you don't! They're dropping like flies!"

The rest of the group didn't stick around for Piedmon's little statement, choosing instead to run off in an attempt to escape the clown Digimon, not noticing that Gatomon and Biyomon hadn't followed right after.

The four children and three Digimon found themselves in a room made of stone bricks and a wooden floor that only lead deeper into another stone hall.

"Well, this is no help!" Sora said worriedly.

"Hey!" Patamon called out to them, "there's a door here!" He pointed to a small latch in the wall and triggered it, opening up a small passageway that closed as soon as they stepped through.

The followed the small stairway only to find themselves a wade space with a small heigt and a wooden ceiling. "Where are we now?" Gomamon asked.

Kudamon's eyes narrowed up at the ceiling. "We haven't gone anywhere," he answered, "We're still in the same room, but just underneath the floor."

"Hush," Kagome shushed them, "Keep quiet." The two older girls huddled around the younger two children and the Digimon, intending on keeping them safe.

Silence reigned around them until they heard footsteps approaching. "Ahh, so you want to play hide and go seek, hmm?" they heard Piedmon speak. "All right, I love a good game! Now, let's see, if I were a little pest, where would I hide, hmm? Maybe you're in this room over here…"

The group held their breath as they looked up at the ceiling, listening and watching. Soon, Piedmon's footsteps were gone and they let out a sigh of relief.

"I think we're safe for now," Sora said softly.

Unfortunately, that wasn't to be as a sword suddenly plunged into the middle of the group without warning, courtesy of the clown Digimon. "Peek-a-boo!"

"Run for it!" Kagome ordered as everyone scrambled to do just that.

"Olly olly oxen free!" Piedmon laughed as he plunged the swords into the wooden floor over and over.

"Celestial Arrow!"

A brightly-hued arrowed knocked Piedmon's sword from his grip. The clown Digimon looked up and growled at the two ultimate Digimon before him.

"Angewomon!" Kari shouted in relief.

"Garudamon!" Sora smiled.

"Wing Blade!" the burst of fire was aimed straight at Piedmon, but when the smoke cleared, he still stood there unharmed, not a scratch or injury upon him.

Garudamon gave a shout as she charged forward, trying to grasp the clown Digimon in her talons, but he dodged her at the last minute, causing the bird Digimon to get lodged into the floor.

Piedmon waved his hand as a white cloth covered Garudamon, subjecting her to the same fate may of their friends have already succumbed to.

Angewomon fared no better as her wing were impaled by several of Piedmon's swords, nailing her to the wall. Another white cloth appeared and covered the angel Digimon before nothing was left underneath.

The children in the meantime, had found a way out from underneath he wooden floor up through to a stone hall. Kagome and Sora looked at each other before nodding.

"T.K," Kagome knelt down to the young boy's height. "We need you to do something for us, will you do it?"

T.K looked hesitant, but nodded all the same.

"We need you to take Kari and get out of here," Sora told the young boy.

"But what about you two?" the young blonde asked.

"Listen to me, there isn't much time," Kagome took a hold of T.K's shoulders as gently as she could with the rising panic of the situation. "Sora and I will hold off Piedmon for as long as we can; he already has our friends and if he gets the both of you then we're all doomed! Please, T.K, you're the only one that can protect Kari now." She looked into frightened cerulean eyes with her icy-blue ones. "You need to be brave, T.K. But no matter what, never forget that we'll always be with you. Now go! GO!"

"I won't leave you!" T.K refused.

"We'll be fine," Sora told the young boy, though she knew it was a lie. "Don't worry about us, now go!"

"No matter what happens keep running and never give up!" Kagome shouted as T.K grabbed Kari and ran away with Patamon by their side.

"Kudamon," Kagome said, "You're up."

"As you wish," Kudamon nodded. "Kudamon Digivolve to: Reppamon!"

"Reppamon Digivolve to: Chirinmon!"

"Sora, Kagome," Gomamon sidled up next to the girls, "I wanna stay here and fight with you!"

"Don't be silly!" Sora snapped. "Without Joe you can't even digivolve! Now go before Piedmon gets you, too!"

"But—" the white Digimon tried.

"But nothing," Kagome added. "Joe risked his life to protect us, and if Piedmon turns you into a doll, it'll all have been in vain! Now, please help T.K. and Kari, there's not much time!"

Gomamon hesitated.

"So the kiddies want to play, do they?" Piedmon cackled. "Oh well, too bad it won't last; I only need seven more keychains to make my collection complete!"

"Not if I have anything to do about it!" Gomamon leapt at the clown Digimon and snagged a specific keychain off and threw it. "Sora!"

"T.K!" Sora shouted, tossing the keychain to the young boy once she'd glanced at it.

The young blonde turned to catch it before continuing to flee with the girl by his side and his Digimon.

"No!" Kagome shouted when she saw Sora disappear underneath another white cloth.

"Sometime in order to succeed, one must step on other along the way!" Piedmon chuckled.

"You won't get your hands on those kids," Kagome growled. "Chirinmon!"

"Heaven's Gale!"

The dragon-like Digimon charged at Piedmon with his glowing horn, but to both his and his partner's disappointment, the attack only grazed the clown Digimon.

"Oh well, that was disappointing," Piedmon yawned. "I think it's time you joined your friends as part of my collection!" He threw out a cloth that headed straight for Kagome.

"Kagome!" Chirinmon rushed to his partner and curled up around her, hoping to spare her from Piedmon's tricks, but to no avail.

The last thing both Kagome and Chirinmon heard was Piedmon's malicious laughter before all went dark.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

When Kagome came to, she found herself looking out at the outside of Piedmon's domain once more. "Uh, what just happened?"

"I had a weird urge to carry some keys…" she heard Tai mutter.

"Tai! Kagome!" Kari came up running to her siblings.

"Kari!" the two preteens caught their little sister up in a tight hug.

"Matt!" T.K shouted.

"T.K!" Matt ran up to his younger brother and hugged him tightly.

"You did a great job," Matt told his brother "I'm proud of you."

"If it wasn't for your advice, I don't know what I would've done," T.K grinned up at his brother, despite the elder sibling's look of confusion.

"Wow!" Tentomon buzzed. "When did Angemon digivolve? You look great! Turn around and let me see!"

"Very well," MagnaAngemon answered, turning, only for his wing to knock Tentomon out of the air.

_'We missed a lot,'_ Kagome blinked in surprise at the Angemon's Ultimate form.

"Foolish DigiDestined," Piedmon smirked. "Did you really think the Dark Masters that easy to defeat? Well think again! You're not the only one with an army!" He waved his arms as hundreds of small winged Digimon popped out of the ground.

**"Meet the Vilemon,"** Piedmon's smirk widened, **"their Nightmare Shock will gave you a rude awakening!"**

"We're surrounded!" Joe exclaimed.

"And there's no way to escape, either!" Izzy added.

"Don't give up now!" T.K told everyone.

"I'm with T.K on this one!" Matt nodded.

"The only way we can even hope to defeat them is for all of us to be together!" Tai exclaimed. "But it looks like some of our friends aren't here!"

Just then, as if on cue, they heard a familiar voice. "Sorry we're late!"

They all looked into the distance and saw Mimi riding in on a Unimon with Figimon, Meramon, Ogremon, Elecmon, and a whole gang of Geckomon and Otamamon right behind her.

"Are we too late to party?" Lillymon winked.

"All right!" Tai nodded determinedly. "Let's give 'em the full digi-attack!"

That said, all the Digimon jumped into the fray, beating back Vilemon and turning them into microscopic particles.

"That's it!" Gomamon hopped up. "I'm not waiting anymore!"

"I'm with you!" Tentomon nodded.

"Gomamon Digivolve to: Ikkakumon!"

"Tentomon Digivolve to: Kabuterimon!"

"Ikkakumon Digivolve to: Zudomon!"

"Kabuterimon Digivolve to: MegaKabuterimon!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!" A thunderbolt headed straight for a cluster of Vilemon, destroying them immediately.

"Very impressive," Piedmon simpered, "But let's see how you do against this! Trump Sword!" He threw four swords at Zudomon.

"Horn Buster!" MegaKabuterimon launched a charged stream of electricity at the swords, turning them into dust.

"Flower Cannon!" Lillymon shot off an energy ball at Piedmon, only for it be blocked by said Digimon. He tossed up another white cloth, intending on capturing Lillymon.

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon's arrow pierced through the cloth, sending it floating harmlessly to the ground, though the arrow continued on, narrowly grazing Piedmon.

"Wing Blade!"

"Heaven's Gale!"

The firebird hit Piedmon, sending him reeling back with a shout of surprise before Chirinmon sent the clown Digimon flying towards WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon.

"Gate of Destiny!" MagnaAngemon drew a lavender circle in the air with his lavender-glowing blade. The circle eventually turned into a golden gate that opened to reveal a white-blue void that sucked in everything in its vicinity.

The DigiDestined watched in awe as the Vilemon screamed and shouted, slowly being sucked into the Gate.

Piedmon watched in horror as his army was reduced to nothing but himself. He heard a sound behind him and spun around to face two angry Mega Digimon.

"Remember us?" WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon said in unison.

Suddenly, Piedmon found himself adopting a horrified expression.

"Terra Force!"

"Giga Missile!"

The force of the two attacks together sent the clown Digimon soaring through the sky, straight into the Gate of Destiny, which closed shut and dissipated the moment the clown Digimon was sucked in.

Suddenly there was a slightly trembling beneath everyone's feet. "What's going on?" Sora asked.

"The last remnants of Spiral Mountain are disappearing," Izzy reported. "The Dark Masters' hold on the Digital World has finally been brought to an end!"

"Good riddance!" Tai nodded as everyone cheered.

_'But why do I get the feeling that it's not over just yet?' _Kagome wondered, looking up into the sky.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Soon the DigiDestined found themselves saying goodbye to the friends and Digimon that had helped them in the battle against Piedmon and his Vilemon army.

"I'm starting to think we have some strange looking friends," Tai commented off-handedly.

"They might not have the best fashion sense," Mimi nodded, "But they're the best friends we'll ever have."

"Oh Mimi," Kagome smiled.

"Hey," Izzy said, getting everyone's attention. "We have e-mail from Gennai!"

"Oh not now," Tai sighed, "I need a na—ow! Kagome!" he turned to his sister.

"Shush and listen," Kagome told her brother. "Gennai wouldn't have e-mailed if it wasn't important; besides, I have a really bad feeling that it's not over yet…"

"He says," Izzy announced, "that the Dark Masters were never the real enemy!"

"What?!" everyone looked at Izzy in shock.

"The real enemy is an evil force whose very existence warps the digi-world and _created _the Dark Masters," the auburn-haired genius told them. "So according to this, I don't think we're out of the woods just yet!"

"Then who are we fighting next?" T.K asked.

It was then that the ground began trembling violently, leaving behind large chasms and deep gouges in the earth and the sky turned dark.

"What's going on?" Mimi whimpered.

"Spiral Mountain is disentigrating!" Kagome shouted to everyone.

"Hold on everyone!" Tai shouted once the ground beneath them disentigrated as well, sending the DigiDestined plummeting into a black and dark-red void, their Digimon falling after them in an attempt to get to their partners before they were hurt.

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	15. Book One: The End?

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

AN: Well, here we are; the first half of this story has been completed! And after this begins Books 2 based off of Adventure 2! Bloody hell, I was crying by the end of that episode! For some reason the end of the final episode of Adventure 1 always gets me!

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-The End?-Xx**

The DigiDestined screamed and shouted as they felt themselves plunging into a dark void, but stopped when they found themselves not falling anymore, but rather floating within the void.

"Are we down?" Joe asked, taking his hands down from his face, looking around.

"Uh, this may be a stupid question," Izzy said slowly, "But why aren't we still falling?" Just then he heard a small beeping coming from his computer and opened it up to reveal Gennai's face on the screen.

_"Greetings,"_ Gennai greeted, _"I hope no one needed a barf bag on the way down!"_

The kids sweat-dropped at the elder man's comment. But it was then that Kagome remembered something Tai had told her a little while ago.

* * *

-Flashback-

_The group, bar Kari and Kagome blinked at the young man that was now fighting against Piedmon with a sword and tried to make the connection between this figure and the older one they'd met a while back._

_"He's actually pretty cute…" Kagome commented._

_Tai turned to his sister and blanched. "Don't say that! Seriously, don't!"_

_"Why not?" Kagome asked._

_"Because—" Tai shook his head. "You'll find out soon enough."_

-End Flashback-

* * *

_'_This_ is Gennai?'_ Kagome's face turned a little green despite the situation at hand.

"So you're the one who brought us down here!" Tai said angrily.

"What do you want?" Matt demanded. "We already beat the Dark Masters!"

Gennai nodded, _"It's true that the evil of the Dark Masters was destroyed, but the source that created that evil still exists."_

The DigiDestined gasped as they leaned in closer to the computer.

_"And that source came from what is known as the Wall of Fire," _the data-human told the children.

"What's that?" Joe asked.

_"When I was searching through the Dino Ruins, I came across an ancient inscription,"_ Gennai explained, _"It told of a time long ago, when a strange being appeared from behind the Wall of Fire. It was angry; you would be too, if you lived with that kind of humidity."_

_'Does he always crack jokes at times like this?'_ Kagome wondered absently.

_"The mere existence of this being caused a warp in space and time was thrown completely out of whack,"_ Gennai continued, _"It threatened the collapse of the Digital World, and even worse than that, my new wristwatch stopped working! The Digimon knew they didn't have the strength to defeat this being, so the original DigiDestined children were summoned from the real world, and together they defeated this evil."_

"Wait," Tai interrupted, "Then does that mean that there were kids just like us here before we came along?"

"And I'm guessing that the reason we were summoned was because something else came out from behind the Wall of Fire," Kagome spoke.

_"That would be correct,"_ Gennai confirmed. _"Unfortunately, that's just the good news. The bad news is, it also told of a great darkness that will blanket the entire Digital World."_

"A 'great darkness', huh?" Matt muttered.

"Um, it's pretty dark right now," T.K commented.

"Then is this the enemy?" Mimi asked.

_"In a way, yes,"_ Gennai told them. Unfortunately, the data-human's image started t crackle as his words blipped in an out. _"But I…he…form. Go…Luck!"_ And with that, Gennai's figure fizzled out into static, leaving a blank screen.

"Oh this just great!" Tai exclaimed. "How does he expect us to fight this thing when don't even know what it is we're looking for?"

"Calm down," Kagome put a hand on her brother's shoulder, "Getting mad and impatient won't get us anywhere."

The brown-haired preteen looked at his sister before sighing and giving a nod in response. "You're right, we have to think this through…"

"I don't know what it is we're looking for," Izzy said pensively, "But I have the feeling that whatever we're going up against is unlike any Digimon we've fought before."

"And?" Matt retorted. "The first DigiDestined were able to fight off an evil just like this! If they were able to do it, then so will we!"

"Matt's right," Sora nodded, "We just need to find a way to do it."

"Except, we still need to find the 'it' we're talking about," Kagome reminded them.

Suddenly a noise like breathed or growling, maybe even a combination of both, echoed loudly around them.

"What's that noise?" Kari shuffled closer to her siblings.

"Sounds like a moose or really loud snoring," Mimi commented.

Just then, Kagome felt a harsh pulse run through her body. The girl gasped and held a hand to her chest.

"Kagome!" Tai steadied his sister.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked worriedly.

"Whatever our enemy is," Kagome panted, "his aura is drenched in evil and sadness." She gave a small smile to her friends. "I'm sorry for worrying you; it just caught me off guard."

"Whatever this noise is," Angewomon said, "it sounds like it's coming from every direction!"

"I know who you are!" a loud, layered voice spoke, the sound echoing around them. "You'll never have the power to eliminate my sorrow!"

"What?" Mimi asked.

"Who's there?" Matt called out.

The silhouette of an isohedron-like figure appeared in the distance, the image becoming clearer as it came closer to the children.

"I'll bet this has something to do with that enemy Gennai was talking about," Izzy stated.

"Well it's either than or some giant cube puzzle!" Tai exclaimed.

The DigiDestined watched as the isohedron shape began to 'open up' with the faces of each pentagon on its surface by extending outwards into different levels with chains and claws extending from the very top of those levels. The figure of a semi-body appeared on the very top of the isohedron only extending from head to abdomen.

"What the heck _is_ that thing?" Mimi asked, looking frightened.

Izzy looked up the Digimon before him on his laptop. **"That's Apocalymon, a mutant Digimon. His Darkness Zone deletes his enemies he also has the power to turn everything he touches into darkness."**

"Perhaps, I'll begin with Earth, then," the Digimon smirked down at the children and their partners.

* * *

-On Earth-

"Man oh man, just _what_ is going on up there?" Jim Kido muttered, looking into the sky with wide eyes.

The crowd of people on earth watched the menacing Apocalymon with frightened and wide stares, not understanding just what was going on.

"We see that thing," Ryo Kamiya muttered, "But where are—"

"The kids!" Airi Kamiya shouted, pointing up to the images of their children and their Digimon partners that just now appeared before Apocalymon.

"Sora!" Toshiko Takenouchi shouted.

"T.K!" Nancy Takashi shouted worriedly.

"Our Mimi!" Mimi's parents chorused, holding each other tightly.

* * *

-Digital World-

"Are you repulsed by my appearance?" Apocalymon asked. "Don't be afraid to hurt my feelings, there already hurt. You see, I was created from all that was lost during the process of Digivolution."

"What was lost?" Izzy murmured.

"Digimon have been digivolving for decades, perhaps even centuries; over and over again," the giant Digimon explained, "But there were some who simply weren't up to the challenge and disappeared."

"That makes sense," Izzy nodded. "Even on Earth, some species became extinct through the process of evolution. In fact, the Tasmanian Tiger Wolf was one of—"

"SILENCE!" Apocalymon roared. "Who's telling this story, me or you?"

"All right, all right," Matt said, "go on then." _'What does he think this is? Storytime?'_

_'He's acting like a child…'_ Kagome thought.

"First, I have a question," Apocalymon told them. "Do you believe that I am worthy of coexisting with you?"

"Why not?" Kagome answered.

"Oh really?" the Digimon looked down at the children. "Even though I was forged from the pain and misery of all the ill-fated Digimon who vanished while attempting to digivolve?"

"You're made up of nothing but grief and sorrw?" Sora asked. "That's so sad…"

"Sure, rub it in," Apocalymon hissed. "And now, DigiDestined and Digimon, I have been waiting an eternity for this encounter."

"What?" WarGreymon asked.

"What are you talking about?" MetalGarurumon added.

"As I sat alone in the cold, miserable darkness of my world," the isohedron Digimon spoke, "I watched all of you on the other side, laughing and having fun in the light. Now it's my turn…to shine!"

Apocalymon released a large electrically-charged shockwave, knocking the children and their Digimon back a few kilometers.

"Is everyone okay?" Tai asked, getting back up.

Matt looked around and observed the rest of their team. "I think so," he nodded.

"Not for long," Apocalymon's voice grew louder with fury, "Do you think it's fair that I should have to live with all this agony? Why should you get to laugh when I am forced to cry? Why do you get to taste the best life has to offer while all I do is choke on its leftovers? Answer me this! Why do all of you get the pizza, while I get the crusts?"

"What's with all these metaphors?!" Mimi squealed. "My head hurts!"

"Man this guy can really hold a grudge," Tai muttered.

"I will rule the world," Apocalymon continued as though the children hadn't said anything, "and plunge it into darkness, so that I don't have to be alone anymore in my misery!" he broke out into malicious laughter. "Wait, why am I laughing? I should be crying!"

One of his many claws formed into a very familiar head. "Rive of Power!" The aqua-hued laser headed straight for Kari, who was frozen in place by her fear.

"Kari!" Kagome and Tai shouted.

"No Angewomon!" Kari cried out when she found the attack aimed at her being taken by her partner.

"That was MetalSeadramon with his classic River Of Power," Apocalymon announced, "And now here's Myotismon with his number one hit, Crimson Lightning!" Another one of his calws turned into a silhouette of Myotismon, shooting out the deep-red whip at Mimi.

"No Lillymon!" Mimi shouted when her Digimon took the hit for her.

"Next, Machinedramon! GigaCannon!" Another of Apocalymon's claws morphed to form a silhouette of Machinedramon who shot his attack at Sora, the attack being blocked by Garudamon.

"Inconceivable" Izzy said with wide eyes. "He's using the attack of all the evil Digimon we've fought in the past!"

"So does that mean that we have to fight them again?" Joe asked for confirmation.

"We did it once," T.K reminded them, "And we can do it again!"

"T.K's right," Tai nodded. "We just have to fight together, as a team!"

"I agree," Matt spoke up, "We've sacrificed way too much to give up now."

"You fools!" Apocalymon roared with laughter. "You haven't even seen my true power yet! Reverse Digivolution!"

Each one of his claws that had morphed back into their original form closed up around each Digimon. "I'll make sure you know how it feels to be one step closer to extinction!" With that said, each of the Digimon within the claws began to glow.

When the claws opened back up, each Digimon, bar Gatomon, was back in their Rookie form. "They're Rookies again," Matt blinked rapidly, not believing what he was seeing.

"He changed them back so easily," Kagome breathed out.

"I'm sorry, T.K," Patamon apologized.

T.K shook his head. "It's not your fault, Patamon; it's his!"

"Great," Kari said morosely, "We're done for…"

"Heads up, Kari," Gatomon glared at her patner, "You'd better lose that 'tude!"

"Just because we've returned to our Rookie forms," Gabumon added, "Doesn't mean we still can't fight!"

"We'd Digivolve if we had the energy," Tentomon inserted.

"That's it!" Joe perked up. "You can digivolve again! Start from scratch!"

"We'd have to eat something," Gomamon pointed out.

"Come to think of it, I am kinda hungry," Palmon grinned sheepishly.

"Kudamon?" Kagome looked at her silent partner.

The fox-like Digimon blushed when he nodded, automatically saying that he, too, was a little famished.

"Forget food, we have the power within us," Agumon told them.

"But we need your help," Gabumon added.

"Get ready, everyone!" Tai shouted. "Tags and Crests out!"

The children all held onto their tags and crests with one hand while the other gripped their digivices tightly.

"Death Claw!" One of Apocalymon's claws closed and then opened, revealing multiple arms that rushed out and quickly snatched the DigiDestined's tags and crests before the children had a chance to do anything about it. He laughed as the arms each crushed the tags and crests they held.

"He broke them!" T.K shouted in shock.

"They won't be able to digivolve without them!" Kagome's eyes were wide with alarm.

"I hope you learned you lesson," Apocalymon said mockingly. "Always save your receipts. The warranty was probably still good on those things."

"Isn't this where someone usually comes up with a wicked good plan?" Joe asked nervously.

"Who can think at a time like this, Joe?!" Mimi exclaimed."I think we're done for!"

"How can we fight him without digvolving?" Biyomon asked. "He's a Mega and we're all just Rookies!"

"You can't," Izzy shook his head. "All of you are rookies and even combined, it wouldn't even be enough to make a scratch on him!"

"There has to be a way," Tai clenched his fist tightly.

"How did the original DigiDestined defeat this enemy?" Kagome asked.

"I'll take these children and use their fear to make them digital and disappear!" Apocalymon laughed, waving his finger before him and eyes glowing red.

It was then that the children gasped and cried out in fright as they watched themselves dissolving into tiny pieces from their feet up.

"What's going on?" Matt looked down at his feet, scared.

"Fascinating," Izzy observed, "Our bodies are being broken down into little bits of digital information!"

"How is this fascinating?!" Kagome all but shouted. "We're being deleted!"

"Just stay calm!" Gabumon ordered. "We don't everyone to fall into pieces."

"Too late," Agumon shook his head as the last of them all disappeared.

* * *

-Unknown Location-

"Where are we?" Tai asked as they all floated around aimlessly.

"We're information now," Izzy reminded them, "This is where all information gathers; it's the world of data."

"Data?" Mimi squeaked. "I'm too young to be dating!"

Izzy shook his head. "That's not what I meant; it's not the same."

"Sometimes too much information can be a bad thing," Joe commented.

"Can we get back?" Kari asked.

"There's no way to tell, Kari," Kagome sighed. "Sora?"

The orange-haired girl shook her head in negative. "I don't know what'll happen; nothing like this has ever happened before."

"Then is this it?" Tai asked quietly. "Have we…lost?"

"I'd say that's a pretty accurate conclusion right now," Matt replied.

"Aw, don't give up just yet!" Agumon spoke up.

Gabumon nodded, "We can't stop fighting now because of a little setback!"

"The fate of two worlds depends on us," Kudamon reminded them.

"So what we're bits of information, we have no tags and crests, we can't digivolve and we're  
facing the most powerful enemy of all time, I don't see what the problem is," Biyomon shrugged.

"Listen, Biyomon," Sora smiled weakly at her partner, "You guys have a great attitude about this. But all the optimism in the world can't guarantee that we'll find a way to get back to our original forms."

"I tried thinking positive once," the blue-haired teen spoke, "And I was positive about one thing: I positively hated it!"

"Scientifically speaking," Izzy pointed out, "We're the first humans ever to be digitally processed. Technically, we're pioneers; like Marco Polo."

"Oh I know what he's famous for!" Tentomon exclaimed. "Marco!"

"Polo!" Agumon grinned.

"Marco!"

"Polo!" Patamon said this time.

"Marco!"

"Polo," Kudamon chuckled.

Izzy just stared at the Digimon in confusion. "Huh?"

"In every battle you're bound to face a number of unknowns," Gabumon told them.

"Yeah," Gomamon nodded. "You didn't know how those other fights would turn out, but you fought them anyway, didn't you?"

Joe nodded this time, "Yeah, that's right; we did fight. When I first came to the Digital World, I was afraid of every little thing that moved. But we faced all kinds of monsters."

"That's right," his partner agreed. "But no matter who they threw at us, we always found the strength to beat the enemy. Regardless of how big it was, didn't we, Joe?"

"Yeah," Joe chuckled, remembering one incident in particular, "We worked as a team. Like that time when we almost lost T.K 'cause he couldn't swim…Of course, I forgot that _I_ couldn't swim either."

"I remember the times when all I wanted to do was cry," Mimi spoke up.

"But instead you fought on with your friends!" Palmon grinned at her partner.

Mimi hummed in agreement. "I feel like I've become a stronger person since I met all of you. Like that time at the convention center when all those Bakemon were attacking. I didn't cry a single drop…Alright, maybe just one drop…"

"Before I met you, T.K., I didn't think it mattered if I ever digivolved or not. But when Devimon went to grab you and got me, I knew it was my time to shine! I became Angemon for the first time and I've been flying high ever since!" Patamon smiled at his partner and friend.

"I learned somethin' from you, too, Patamon," T.K nodded. "I learned that sometimes you need to fight for what you believe in."

"I want you to know that you've changed my life in many ways, too, Sora," Biyomon added.

"Yeah?" Sora smiled at her Digimon.

"Of course you have!" the pink-bird Digimon exclaimed. "After all, I've never had a best friend before. I would do anything for you. Like that time I took Myotismon's Crimson Lightning attack right in the chest. Talk about heartburn!"

"You know, Izzy, when I first met you, I thought you were just one of those computer geeks," Tentomon said, "But after I got to know you, I realized you are one of those computer geeks. And I'm glad you are! Because where would the rest of us be without you?"

Izzy chuckled, "Thanks, pal."

"I promised myself I wouldn't cry…" Tentomon sniffled. "Although, I _wanted_ to cry when I felt that asteroid belt tightening around my waist. But, you and I took care of Vademon together!"

Gabumon looked up at his partner. "As for you, Matt—"

The blonde cut his partner off, "You don't have to say anything, I know."

"There was that time when—"

"Yeah, that's right, I remember."

"And then you and I—"

"I know."

"Remember when we—"

"Didn't you hear me?" Matt looked at his Digimon. "You don't have to say anything, I know."

"You and I knew from the very beginning that we'd make an invincible tem, didn't we, tai?" Agumon asked.

"You got that right" Tai grinned. "Of course, I probably could have taken care of Etemon without you, but it was nice having you around. You _did _get me out of a few jams."

"We can't give up now, because if we do, what was the whole point of searching for Kari in the first place?" Gatomon pointed out.

"Gatomon…" Kari breathed out.

Gatomon looked at the light-brown-haired girl. "I've waited my whole life to meet you and find my purpose. And that is to protect you, no matter what the cost. Whether that meant facing Myotismon's Grisly Wing attack or facing the reality of losing Wizardmon. You know, I will always be there for you."

"And I'm glad to have met you as well, Kagome," Kudamon nodded up at his partner, for once not attached around her neck.

"Me, too, Kudamon," Kagome smiled at the fox-like Digimon.

"I never knew what to expect when I was looking for you," the fox-like Digimon spoke, "But when I found you, I knew you were a special girl. When we fought Locomon, I felt your compassion for all the people that could've gotten hurt and I knew that we'd be all right. We haven't been together for long, but to me, it feels like a lifetime."

"If I never met you, Gatomon…" Kari began.

"And if I never came to the Digital World…" Joe continued.

"And we never became friends…" Mimi added.

"Then we never would've become who we are today!" Izzy finished.

"You're right!" Matt said. "We never would've won all those battles without each other."

"I feel like I've grown up a lot!" T.K exclaimed.

"I think we've all grown up in some way," Sora replied.

"I've grown up, too," Tai added. "I'm a way better fighter now!"

"We just haven't grown up; we've changed. And for the better!" Kagome concluded.

* * *

-On Earth-

In Odaiba, the parents of the DigiDestined and Jim linked hands as they looked up into the sky determinedly.

"Come on!" Jim muttered. "For Earth!"

"You can do it!" Matt's father nodded.

"We're proud of you no matter what!" Sora's mother called out.

"Give it everything you've got!" Izzy's parents nodded.

"We're counting on you!" Mimi's parents shouted.

"We believe in you!" Tai's parents looked into the sky.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

However, it wasn't just Japan that was looking to the sky, praying for the children. All over the world, people of different countries and races stared into the sky determinedly as they rooted for the children's victory over the evil Digimon.

* * *

-Unknown Location-

"I don't know about you," Tai said determinedly, "But I'm not ready to quit!"

Sora nodded. "I won't let this whole experience be for nothing!"

"Me neither," Matt added, "there's no way I'm about to let my friends down!"

"And besides, we have a lot of people counting on us on Earth," Izzy reminded.

"Let's find a way!" Mimi said.

"Let's fight!" Kagome joined in.

"We're ready!" T.K said.

"We reached the point where there's no turning back," Joe told them.

"Crests or no crests, we're going to win!" Kari spoke.

"Are we together?" Mimi asked.

The group nodded in unison.

"It's gonna be pretty tough, though, without our crests," Joe added.

"We definitely won't need our crests!" Kagome shook her head, a stubborn glint in her eye. "Not for this fight!"

Suddenly, T.K cried out. "Wha—My heart!" He looked down at his chest and saw his crest glowing brightly through his sweatshirt.

One by one, the DigiDestined all let out gasps of surprise when they saw their own crests glowing on their chests through their clothing.

"It's your crests!" Agumon told them. "You don't need to carry them anymore because their power has been inside of you this whole time!"

"You mean like inside our hearts?" Tai asked.

Prodigious, that makes perfect sense," Izzy nodded. "It's like my knowledge and Joe's sense of responsibility. If your special traits are within you, then you don't need your crest because your power will be within you as well!"

"You're wrong!" Matt burst out, causing everyone to look at him, surprised.

"It wasn't the friendship inside of me that made my crest glow, Izzy," Matt explained. "It was more than that. The friendship I felt from all of you gathered inside my heart, and that brought the power of my crest to life."

"Our own power doesn't power our crests," Kagome clarified. "They're powered by the faith we have in each other!"

"Then the light inside of me is for everyone!" Kari smiled, her crest glowing brightly.

Gatomon grinned as she felt a familiar power creep through her. "Gatomon Digivolve to: Angewomon!"

"And everyone's hopes are my hopes!" T.K grinned, his crest glowing brightly as well.

Patamon's eyes widened. "Patamon Digivolve to: Angemon!"

"Angemon Digivolve to: MagnaAngemon!"

"Compassion!" Kagome said.

Kudamon felt the familiar energy coursing through his body. "Kudamon Digivolve to: Reppamon!"

"Reppamon Digivolve to: Chirinmon!"

"Knowledge!" Izzy nodded.

"Tentomon Digivolve to: Kabuterimon!"

"Kabuterimon Digivolve to: MegaKabuterimon!"

"Sincerity," Mimi spoke.

"Palmon Digivolve to: Togemon!"

"Togemon Digivolve to: Lillymon!"

"Reliability!" Joe said.

"Gomamon Digivolve to: Ikkakumon!

"Ikkakumon Digivolve to: Zudomon!

"Love!" Sora said.

"Biyomon Digivolve to: Birdramon!"

"Birdramon Digivolve to: Garudamon!"

"Friendship!" Matt spoke.

"Gabumon Warp Digivolve to: MetalGarurumon!"

"Courage!" Tai nodded.

"Agumon Warp Digivolve to: WarGreymon!"

Slowly, the children and Digimon felt a sort of tingling sensation before their vision went dark.

* * *

-Digital World-

Apocalymon had been cackling over the defeat of the Digidestined, but growled when he saw the space before him warp. His eyes widened when he saw the DigiDestined he'd digitized reassemble along with their Digimon by their sides. "What?!"

"We did it!" Izzy exclaimed. "We reassembled ourselves!"

"Get ready, Apocalymon," Tai smirked, as they all fell into battle stances, determined eyes fixing on the giant Digimon, "'Cause you're dealing with the new and improved DigiDestined!"

"Impossible!" Apocalymon roared. "How did you digivolve without your crests?!"

"Nothing's impossible when your friends are by your side!" Matt answered.

"You said it, Matt," Tai nodded. "Now, it's time to fight!"

"Yeah!" The group chorused together.

And soon enough, the digidestined were riding off into battle on their Digimon, or in Mimi's case, with her Digimon.

"So you want to fight?" Apocalymon asked. "Then let's see how you do against this! Death Claw!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!" Zudomon's Hammer collided with the approaching chained claw and smashed into bits.

"You nailed it!" Joe grinned.

"We can help out, too can't we, Lillymon?" Mimi asked.

"Then you'd better hang on!" Lillymon smiled.

"Hang on to wha—aaaaah!" Mimi shouted as her partner threw her up into the air.

"Flower Cannon!" Lillymon's shot was aimed at and destroyed yet another claw that Apocalymon had shot out.

"Next can you use someone else as your boomerang, Lillymon?" Mimi asked, slightly dazed.

"Sorry!" Lillymon winked. "But I wanted to make sure you'd come back to me."

"Vulcan's Hammer!" Another one of Apocalymon's claws were destroyed, courtesy of Zudomon's hammer.

"Tai! Matt!" Joe called out. "Now's your chance to go for his body!"

"Got it!" Tai saluted his friend. "What the—"

"Joe, Mimi, look out!" Sora shouted when she saw another pair of claws headed for Joe and Mimi from behind.

"Gate of Destiny!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

Angewomon's attack destroyed one of the claws while MagnaAngemon's attack sucked the other right into the Gate's void.

"Don't worry!" T.K assured them. "We're here to protect you!"

"We'll go for the other claws, too!" Kari added.

"Thanks Kari!" Joe shouted.

"We owe you one!" Mimi told them

"This is way better than any videogame, don't you think so, Matt?" Tai asked.

"You bet!" Matt smirked.

The two boys dodged yet another claw, allowing it head past them, for their friends to take care of.

"Flower Cannon!" Lillymon blasted said claw into smithereens.

"Hey!" Sora called out as she, Kagome, and Izzy flew beside the two Mega Digimon and their partners. "Don't forget to leave some for Izzy, Kagome and I!"

"We'll distract Apocalymon while you two concentrate on attacking!" Izzy told them.

"Just watch our backs," Matt nodded.

"It's time to end this!" Apocalymon shouted. "Virus Grenades!"

"MegaKabuterimon, protect Sora!" Garudamon ordered, depositing her partner onto the giant insectoid Digimon's back.

"Wing Blade!" the fiery blast wiped out the field of grenades the giant Digimon had just released.

Apocalymon only growled as another of his claws formed Machinedramon once more. "Giga Cannon!"

"My turn," MegaKabuterimon said. "Horn Buster!" the streak of electricity headed straight for the blast, cancelling out the attack with his own before continuing on to destroy the figure of Machindremon.

Apocalymon glared hatefully at the children and their Digimon as another claw morphed intot he form of the most recently defeated of the Dark Masters. "Trump Sword!"

"Let's go!" Kagome ordered her partner.

"Heaven's Gale!" Chirinmon's glowing horn pierced through the sword barrage in no time, destroying them as quickly as they came. He then continued on to destroy the blackened figure of Piedmon.

Apocalymon only roared on pain and frustration.

"Now's our chance!" Tai yelled.

"Attack!" Matt shouted.

'Metal Wolf Claw!"

"Terra Force!"

The two attacks were shot straight at the giant Digimon, combining along the way to engulf him.

"We did it!" Tai pumped his fist.

"His claws are all destroyed, too!" Joe added.

"Wait!" Kagome called out. "Something's not right! If he was gone, I would feel it, but somehow, he's not! His aura's still here!"

"You think so, huh?" Apocalymon spoke, proving Kagome right. His body pulsed violet as ghost-like apparitions flowed out from his body around the children and their partners. "I may be beaten, but I won't go down that easily. I'll take you, and both worlds with me!"

"What?" Tai gasped.

"You haven't seen my ultimate attack yet!" Apocalymon roared, his isohedric body floating off into the distance. "Total Annihilation!"

The DigiDestined saw the giant Digimon's body detonate, sending out a huge shockwave along with a gigantic ball of energy hurling their way, expanding with each moment.

_'I shoulda made out my will!'_ Joe thought nervously.

_'I'm too good-looking to go!'_ Mimi whimpered mentally.

_'I want my mommy!'_ T.K looked at the blast with wide eyes.

_'There must be a solution!' _Izzy wondered.

_'We won't give up!'_ Matt clenched his fists.

_'We're stronger than he is,'_ Tai thought determinedly.

_'We're a team,'_ Sora nodded.

_'It's destiny,'_ Kagome looked at the ball of destruction with narrowed eyes.

"After all…" Kari said aloud.

"We're the DigiDestined!" The group chorused as one.

It was then that their digivices flew out of their hands and began to glow brightly before shooting out a bright light from their screens. However, it seemed that this was no normal light; it looked more like a brightly lit piece of rope because of the way it didn't fade.

The lights from the digivices swirled around the ball of destructive energy in a spiral before spreading out to form a gigantic sphere around the blast to contain it. Once the sphere was complete the lights disconnected from the digivices, the devices returning to their rightful owners as the giant sphere flew away from the DigiDestined and their partners quickly into the distance before detonating.

"What was that?" T.K asked.

"The explosion was completely contained!" Izzy blinked. "By the power of our digivices!"

"So this means we've won?" Tai looked at where the explosion had taken place.

"Looks that way," Matt said, dazedly.

"Excuse me while I throw up," Joe said weakly, walking away from the group.

"I guess we saved the world" Sora grinned.

"Both worlds," Kagome corrected.

Kari nodded happily.

"HEEEEEY!" they heard a voice shouted from behind.

The group turned to see Ogremon and Andromon with Elecmon in his arms running to them.

"You did it!" Elecmon exclaimed.

"You were amazing!" Ogremon swung his club around happily. "Remind me next time to call you when I have trouble with my landlord."

Kagome and Mimi just giggled at the comment.

"Thank you," Andromon said, "For everything."

"It was nothing," Izzy blushed, "But I had some help, you know."

The group just burst into laughter, relieved that it was all over now.

* * *

-On Earth-

One by one, each of the Digimon that had appeared in the different countries began to dissipate into tiny particles as the sky finally cleared, allowing the bright light of the sun to beam down on them.

"They did it," Airi Kamiya said happily, leaning against her husband's shoulder.

The rest of the parents looked proud of their children, though Mimi's mother showed her relief through a bout of tears.

"Great job, bro," Jim nodded with a smile, "I'm proud of ya."

* * *

-Digital World-

The Digidestined and the Digimon turned around when they heard, yet another noise coming towards them. They watched as a Mekanorimon and Centarumon landed before them

"sorry I was late," Gennai said as the top of the Mekanorimon opened up, "Forgot to set my alarm. So is it over?"

The DigiDesinted nodded in unison. "Yeah!"

"So what's gonna happen to the Digital World now?" T.K asked.

"Look for yourselves!" Centarumon said jovially.

A large hole opened up beneath their feet, showing the current state of the Digital World. Or rather, the state it should have always been.

"It's File Island!" Tai pointed to the familiar place.

"The ancient prophecy said that after the great darkness is over, the first thing to be reborn will  
be the island," Centarumon explained, "And from that island, will come the land and the seas."

"But what does that mean?" Kari asked.

"It means that the Digital World will start over from the beginning," the Data-Human answered.

"What's going on down there?" Izzy asked, watching the streams of particles filter into the island.

"The digital World is being reborn," Gennai told them," As are all of the Digimon of the past…We're gonna need a lot of diapers!"

_'Do Digimon even need diapers?'_ Kagome thought absently.

"Let's go!" Tai shouted, to which everyone shouted in agreement as their Digimon returned to their rookie forms, with the exception of Gatomon.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

-Primary Village-

"Where are we?" Kari asked, looking around at the colourful area full of toy-like structures and happy patterns.

"It's the Primary Village!" Sora exclaimed.

"And everything's back to normal," Elecmon said, relieved.

"It looks like it's about to rain," Joe pointed up to the sky where clouds were gathering.

However, to their surprise, it wasn't water falling out of those clouds, but egg. Lots and lots of Digi-Eggs!

"A Digi-Egg storm!" T.K shouted, running off into the flied of eggs with Patamon by his side.

"Hey! Wait! Those eggs are my responsibility!" Elecmon shouted, running after the duo.

"Are you going to count them all?" T.K asked.

"Are you kidding?" Elecmon looked at the eggs around them. "You never count your Digi-Eggs before they hatch!"

Kari tugged at Kagome's hand and lead her over to where T.K and Elecmon were. "Whatcha doing?" the young girl asked.

"Helping these Digi-Eggs hatch!" Patamon answered cheerily.

"Are you going to hatch them all?" Kagome looked around that the huge amount of eggs before looking up at the sky, where eggs were still raining down on them.

"Well, what you suggest we do?" Elecmon asked. "Make an omlette? Of course we're gonna hatch them all, the future of the Digital World Depends on it."

"You can help, too," Patamon nodded to two eggs before the girls. "Just rub them gently!"

"This is fun," Kari smiled, rubbing a white and orange-striped egg while Kagome rubbed a white egg with blue triangles over it.

"We should be done in about sixty years, give or take a few months," Elecmon commented.

"T.K, Kari, Kagome!" Izzy called.

The trio turned around to see the aurburn-haired genius running up to them, carefully avoiding any Digi-Eggs in his path.

"What's up?" Kagome asked.

"We're all about to take a picture to celebrate, come on!" Izzy pointed his thumb back at the rest of the group, who was getting ready for said photo. "You can bring the eggs, too if you'd like; to remind us of where we are and that because of our actions, new lives can be born."

Kagome and Kari nodded as the trio followed Izzy back to the rest of the group and got into position, Kudamon curled up around Kagome's neck with his head lifted just high enough for him to be seen.

"Say 'cheese'!" Andromon spoke.

But before the group could say it, the eggs in Kagome's and Kari's arms began to wiggle, causing the girls to gasp down at it.

"What's wrong?" T.K asked.

"What's going on?" Gatomon looked up at the girls.

Suddenly, just as the camera went off, the two eggs burst into a cloud of smoke, surprising everyone.

"They hatched!" Elecmon said looking over into the two kneeling girls' arms.

"They're adorable!" Patamon squealed.

Kagome stroked the Relemon that hatched from her egg in her lap while Kari nuzzled the Botamon that hatched from her egg. "You're cute!" Kari smiled.

It was then that Mimi noticed Ogremon wasn't to be found. "Uh, where's Ogremon? He was just here a second ago."

"I'm outta here," said Digimon spoke, getting everyone's attention. He threw a cloak around himself and plopped a hat on his head.

"But why?" Mimi asked.

"It's time to hit the road," he replied, "take a hike, make like a tree and leaf!"

"But why don't you stay here with us, Ogremon?" Palmon suggested.

"Look I'm a virus type Digimon; you guys are data and vaccine types," Ogremon explained. "If I hang around here too long, I'll get sick to my stomach. Catch ya later!"

The group watched as the large green Digimon walked off before disappearing in the distance.

"He disappeared!" Biyomon blinked.

"Typical," Gomamon shrugged, "He just doesn't want to admit that he likes us."

"I've never heard of a Virus giving anyone a cold shoulder," Tentomon mused.

"Don't say that," Gennai admonished, "Do you remember the day that Agumon first digivolved into SkullGreymon? At the time, I said it was the wrong thing to do, but the truth is, when it comes to digivolving, there's no right or wrong. A Digimon's destiny cannot be changed. That day was a real eye-opener for me; of course I haven't been able to open them since!"

"Well if that's the case, then I'll just digivolve myself into the next Dark Master," Agumon sniffed.

Immediately the Digimon began apologizing and trying to deter the small orange Digimon from such an idea while their human partners laughed.

* * *

-File Island-

"This really brings back memories, doesn't it?" Sora asked. "This is the exact same place where we spent our first night in the Digital World."

"That's right!" Izzy said, recalling the event. "This is the exact place where Gabumon first digivolved into Garurumon and fought Seadramon!"

"Yeah, and this is the place where I fainted for the first time," Joe spoke, "Well, the first time in the  
Digital World, anyway. Boy, it sure is great strolling down memory lane, isn't it? Hey, do you think we when all get back, we'll be some kind of heroes? And win a whole bunch of awards, like an Emmy or something?"

"Joe!" Gomamon raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry!" the teen grinned. "Old dopey me. Open mouth, insert foot. I mean, we can always come back, right guys? Right?"

"Joe…" Gomamon's face fell.

"Oh, I forgot; faux pas," The blue-haired boy looked sheepish, though if you looked closely you'd find a sad glint in his eyes. "Time passes differently here than in our world. You guys will probably be  
long gone. Whoops, there goes the other foot."

"Hey! You know, we've still got a lot of summer left," Matt pointed out, "I was thinking... maybe we could stay here until our vacation's over."

"That's a great idea!" Tai nodded.

"I'm game," Sora piped up.

"Count me in," Mimi chimed in.

"Can I stay, too?" Kari looked up at her siblings.

"Sure!" the duo replied in tandem.

"We might as well," Izzy conceded, "We've got plenty of time, since an entire day in the Digital World is equal to just one minute in the real world, and we've still got four weeks left of summer vacation…"

"Then we can stay here in the digital world for up to," Joe started doing mental calculations, "Let's see, carry the four, divide by three…A really, really long time!"

"To be precise," Izzy corrected, "It's forty thousand three hundred and twenty days. That's about a hundred and ten years!"

"Then we're staying!" tai pumped his fist into the air.

"Hey, what's that?" Agumon looked up and saw the sun being blocked out just a little bit by a black figure.

"It's an eclipse," Izzy replied.

"Yes," Gennai came up to the group with Cetarumon by his side, "and there's something you need to know about it, children."

"I know!" Mimi waved her hand up. "You're not supposed to look directly at it!"

"Yes that's true," Gennai nodded. "But that's not all; this eclipse could cost you your lives."

"This is no ordinary eclipse, is it?" Kagome asked quietly. _'I have a strange feeling about this…'_

Centarumon shook his head. "That shadow is the gate that connects your world to the Digital World. I'm afraid the eclipse will only last for two more hours."

"Then we'll just wait for it to open up again," Matt spoke up.

"Yeah," Mimi nodded. "After all, we still have over a hundred years of summer vacation left!"

"Actually," Gennai said with a heavy heart, "When Apocalymon was destroyed, the time flow of the Digital World became synchronized to that of your world."

"Then we still have four weeks left, right?" Mimi asked pleadingly.

"That's still enough time to have some fun," Matt added with a hopeful expression.

"I'm afraid you only have two hours," Gennai told them, "because when that gateway closes, it will never open again."

"But…" Matt trailed off.

"I'm sorry," Gennai said sadly," But it's time to say goodbye."

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"I still can't believe that we have to go," Kagome said quietly at against a tree, stroking Kudamon's fur. "We didn't even have much time with each other…"

"Neither can I," Kudamon answered with a purr. "But I have a feeling that we'll see each other again soon."

"Do you?" Kagome tilted her head curiously. The girl stopped stroking her Digimon and opened her pouch, taking out a white and lavender-striped ribbon. She looked at her Digimon, "Can I?"

Kudamon looked at the ribbon and realized what his partner wanted and nodded in reply.

Kagome smiled slightly as she gently wrapped the ribbon around Kudamon's neck a few times before tying a small bow under the front of his collar below his chin. "This is my favorite ribbon, you know. Mama would help me tie my hair back with it whenever it got too hot to leave my hair down. You'll take care of it, won't you?"

"Think of it as a promise," Kudamon told his partner, "That we'll see each other again."

Kagome took that as a 'yes I will' and went back to stroking his fur, humming a soft melody. "Kudamon?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

"As I you, Kagome."

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Have you all finished saying your goodbyes?" Gennai asked as the DigiDestined and their Digimon came up to where a large white and green cable car stood tall. "You can all take this cable car to get home, on one condition: You have to return it to San Fransisco, where I borrowed it from."

"Can't we have just a little more time?" Kagome asked as she and Sora tried comforting a sobbing Mimi.

"Please, Gennai, do something," Sora pleaded.

"I'm sorry, girls," Gennai said gently, "But there's nothing I can do, the gate won't wait any longer. What's the problem?"

"Palmon's disappeared," Agumon replied.

"Why would she run away from me?" Mimi wept. "Why?!"

"I think we can spare just another minute or two, can't we, Gennai?" Centarumon asked.

The Data-Human looked at the sad group of children and sighed. "Very well, two minutes, but no more than that or you'll miss your chance to get home."

The children smiled at Gennai as they called out for Palmon, searching for the plant Digimon before they left. However, to their dismay, the plant Digimon was nowhere to be seen let alone found.

"It's time children," Gennai told them when their two minutes were up, "Go into the cable car, everyone."

The children nodded, climbing in morosely while their Digimon stood outside of it watching sadly.

"Well," Tai said weakly when they all lifted the windows of the cable car open, "What can I say?"

"Try…Goodbye," Agumon suggested softly.

Gatomon took a hold of the whistle Kari gave her and gave it a good blow, the sound echoing around them as the electric towers around them started sparking and the cable car began moving.

_Hey Digimon, Hey Digimon_  
_Monster friends to the boys and girls_  
_Hey Digimon, hey Digimon_  
_Champions of the Digital World_

Both Digimon and DigiDestined waved and shouted their goodbyes as the cable car rose up into the air towards the gateway home.

"Mimi! Mimi!" the group heard a familiar voice. They looked towards the source and saw the missing Digimon they'd been searching for.

_Hey Digimon, hey Digimon_  
_Ultimate friends to the boys and girls_  
_Hey Digimon, Hey Digimon_  
_Champions of the Digital World_

"Mimi, it's Palmon!" Sora told her friend.

_Seven young kids go to camp for the summer_  
_Wind up living in a digital land_  
_Where everybody gets to meet his own Digi-monster_  
_A digital companion, a digital friend_

Mimi nodded tearfully and leaned out the window to say good bye. "Palmon!"

_A Digimon In-Training will digivolve to Rookie_  
_And digivolve to Champion and Ultimate too_  
_I'm gonna save the Digital World for me_  
_I'm gonna save the Digital World for you_

"I'm sorry, Mimi!" Palmon shouted, running alongside the cable car on the ground as it rose higher and higher.

"It's okay, Palmon!" Mimi called back. "Take care of yourself! I love you!" The caramel-haired girl gasped when her partner tripped over her roots. It was that action that lead to Mimi's pink cowboy hat to fly off her head, leaving it to float along the wind.

_Hey Digimon, Hey Digimon_  
_Monster friends to the boys and girls_  
_Hey Digimon,Hhey Digimon_  
_Champions of the Digital World_

In no time, though, the plant Digimon got back up and began running and saying her goodbyes once more, this time joined by the rest of the Digimon partners. They watched as the cable car rose higher and higher until it disappeared from sight.

_Hey Digimon, Hey Digimon_  
_Ultimate friends to the boys and girls_  
_Hey Digimon, Hey Digimon_  
_Champions of the Digital World_

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	16. Book Two: A New Adventure Begins

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!**

AN: Here begins Book 2 based off of Adventure 2!

Ages are as follows:

Kari, T.K, Davis, Ken, Yolei: 11

Cody: 10

Izzy: 15

Joe: 17

Kagome, Matt, Sora, Tai, Mimi: 16

And if no one read the message in an earlier chapter, then let me say it again, I have pictures up on my DeviantArt page for this story and this part in particular. Just go into my Gallery tab and click on the folder on the side labeled "InuYasha/Digimon" to view those photos if they're not featured on the profile page.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-A New Adventure Begins-Xx**

-Digital World-

"Run!" a Gazimon shouted. "It's the Digimon Emperor!"

A boy that looked about ten, maybe eleven, possibly a little older stood atop a large boulder, cracking his whip, causing hundreds of black rings to erupt from behind him and chase the Digimon.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

This boy had messy, spiky blue hair and pale skin, his eyes were covered up with gold sunglasses with violet lens.

He wore a blue and white jumpsuit with black accents, a pair of metal gauntlets around his wrists leading up to black gloves, a pair of metal anklets leading down to black boots. He had two large gold shoulder pads from which a long blue cape edged in gold that split into two like a pair of insect wings spread around him to a few inches above the ground.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

The Digimon Emperor only laughed as the Digimon in the area fled from the dark rings floating after them.

Some weren't very luck and were clipped by the rings around some part of their body, their eyes glowing an angry red soon after.

Gatomon ran away from a ring that was after her as fast as she could, but there was only so much she could do. The moment the ring after her was about to snap itself around her neck, her tailring glowed golden as it batted the ring away.

"That was close," the feline Digimon sighed, only to freeze when she heard a sound behind her. Gatomon turned around and found Unimon there, poised to attack.

* * *

-Earth; Hamasaki Academy-

(AN: I didn't know how this is arranged in the anime, but in my story I'm having the High School and Middle Schools in one academy with the two levels in different parts of the building. Oh and Middle Schoolers won't have a strict dress code until their first official year of High School.)

Kagome stared out the window, waiting for class to begin and sighed as she watched the underclassmen play around or talk outside.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Her uniform consisted of a dark-brown and black plaid skirt with a white button down underneath a cream-hued blazer. A red bow was neatly tied around her neck with a pair of black knee-high socks and dark-brown ankle boots.

Her thing-length hair was tied in a loose braid over her shoulder secured with a simple black tie reaching down to her waist. In her ears were a pair of small gold hoops.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

It had been four years since that summer in the Digital World and quite a bit had changed with the DigiDestined.

Tai was now in High School with Sora, Mimi, Joe, Izzy, and Kagome, though he still loved playing soccer. Matt actually had formed a band with a few other friends and they were slowly rising in fame. Sora had grown to let go of soccer and had become a very becoming tennis player. Mimi and her parents had moved to New York due to their paranoia over the entire Digital World adventure. Joe was still studying hard to become a doctor, though his brother wasn't any longer. Izzy was now in High School with the rest of them and was still as much of a genius as ever.

And Kagome?

Well, for one, Kagome never really stuck around with one particular activity, which tended to drive her brother mad, preferring to switch around trying out whatever had caught her interest. She still kept in touch with her old friends, but it seemed that she and Mimi had grown much closer after the caramel-haired girl moved.

_'I wonder what that dream meant,'_ Kagome thought, _'I haven't had another vision since we left the Digital World that summer four years ago. Something must have happened; I just hope our Digimon friends are all right…'_

She thought back to image of a spiky-haired boy in front of a large black spike with two other human figures on either side of him. _'Who is he? And what was that spike?'_

"Hey, Kagome," a voice greeted the raven-haired girl as they took the seat beside her.

"Hm?" Kagome turned only for her eyes to brighten when she saw it was Matt who'd taken the seat next to her. "Matt? You're in my class?"

"Yeah," The blonde laughed lightly, "Didn't expect it, but I won't look the other way for having a friend with me in my class this year."

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Matt had grown quite a bit as well, now standing a full head taller than her. His hair had grown out to just below his earlobes and he'd lost his baby fat as well. Though his eyes were the same cerulean she'd remembered from four years ago.

He wore a pair of dark-brown pants, a white button down underneath a cream blazer with a red tied around his neck. On his feet were a pair of black shoes and around his wrist was a simple wristwatch.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"You okay?" Matt asked his raven-haired friend. "You look a little distracted."

"It's nothing," Kagome shook her head, "Just a strange dream, that's all."

"About what?" Matt leaned in a bit. "It wouldn't happen to have been about the Digital World, would it?"

After coming home, Kagome had confessed to her friends and her siblings that she'd been seeing visions of things that actually came true. However, she only saw glimpses of things, nothing totally specific that could give her a chance to change what was to happen.

"I don't know, actually," Kagome's brow furrowed, "I can't really tell where it is. All I can see is a boy with spiky hair standing in front of a huge black spike with two other people. They all look human, but something seemed…off about the other two with the boy…"

"Weird…" Matt whispered. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it when the school bell rang and the teacher stepped inside.

The class took out their notebooks, textbooks, and writing utensils as their teacher began his lesson.

* * *

-Hamasaki Academy; After School-

Kagome was packing up to leave as Matt had left before her to get to band practice and she'd stayed behind a bit to review a few things over with the teacher. Suddenly she stopped when a beeping came from her bag. Recognizing the sound, the girl opened her bag and took out a small silver device that resembled a DS gaming system, but wasn't quite that.

Kagome pressed a button and checked the message she'd gotten, only for her eyes to widen with each word she read. Quickly typing a reply before stuffing the device into her bag, Kagome ran as fast as she could to the only computer lab still open at this time in the school.

"Kagome!" the raven-haired girl turned and smiled in relief. "Izzy!"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Aside from his growth spurt, nothing much had changed about Izzy beside his shorter haircut which was definitely a change from the wild do he'd sported four years ago.

He was wearing the same uniform Matt was wearing, though his tie wasn't around his neck, but hanging out slightly from his bag.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Did you get—" The aurburn-haired genius began.

"Yeah," Kagome nodded worriedly. "We need to go; now!"

The two nodded and ran as fast as they could to the same computer lab Kagome was headed for first. Eventually, they met up with Kari, T.K and two other students that looked about their age.

* * *

Kari had certainly grown taller in the last four years and her hair had grown out some, though she still preferred to keep it short and clipped slightly to the side with a red barrette.

She wore a pair of yellow high-waist shorts with a brown belt, a pink and white sleeveless turtleneck, a pair of pink fingerless gloves that stretched up to a few inches below her shoulders, a pair of knee-high white socks, and pink sneakers. A silver camera was hanging around her neck by a neon-green cord.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

T.K had grown as much as Kari and actually exceeded her height by an inch and a half. He hadn't changed much in terms of features with the exception of his losing the childish baby fat a little.

He wore a pair of green shorts, a yellow and teal long-sleeved shirt, a pair of navy socks with green sneakers, and a white bucket hat sat on his head.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Another boy had short, spiky maroon hair, lightly-tanned skin, and dark-brown eyes.

He wore a pair of dark-brown shorts, a navy and white striped long-sleeve shirt with a cerulean vest over it, a pair of white knee-high socks with white sneakers. A pair of goggle rested on his head, much like the way Tai had his.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

And the girl was about the same height as the maroon-haired boy. She had lavender hair down to mid-back held back with a blue bandana, a pair of amber eyes rested behind a pair of large circular-framed glasses, and she had a peachy complexion.

She wore a magenta long-sleeved dress that stopped a few inches above her knees with blue knee-length tights underneath, a pink short-sleeved cardigan over the dress, and a pair of violet ankle socks with orange shoes.

* * *

"Izzy! Kagome!" T.K grinned. "What's up?"

Kagome flashed a quick smile at younger blonde and her sister as Izzy spoke with the lavender-haired girl. "Yolei, I need to use the computer lab right now if you're not busy."

"I You mean the Former Computer Club President is looking for me?" Yolei gushed. "I'm honoured!"

"Tai sent us an urgent e-mail!" Kari said worriedly.

"We know," Kagome nodded, "Izzy and I just received it as well. I sent him a reply saying that I'd get whoever I could to go with me as soon as possible."

They all walked into the computer lab and Izzy took over the terminal Yolei had been using previously. "That's a lot better than what happened with me," Izzy told the raven-haired girl. "I forgot to recharge my D-Terminal after playing Trigonometry Trivia on the internet last night."

"Um, not to be rude or anything," Yoeli interrupted. "But who are you?" She directed this at Kagome.

"My name is Kagome Kamiya," the raven-haired girl smiled, "I'm Kari's older sister."

"But I thought Tai was Kari's brother," the maroon-haired boy scratched his head.

"He is," Kagome nodded, "and I'm her sister, that's all there is to it."

"Hey, what's the Digital World?" Yolei asked, remembering the words of the e-mail she'd given to Kari. "Is it a new amusement park or something?"

Kari, Kagome, T.K, and Izzy looked at each other and sweat-dropped. "Not exactly…" Kagome said weakly.

"Hm…I heard about it from Tai once," the maroon-haired boy spoke, "something about it having a lot of Digimon there or something."

"You know tai?" T.K asked.

"Tai helps coach Davis' soccer team when he's not playing for his own," Kari answered.

"Yolei!" came a somewhat hoarse voice from the doorway.

They turned to see a young boy possibly a year younger than Kari and T.K standing in the hall outside the computer lab.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

This young boy had short brown hair, pale skin, and dark-brown eyes.

He wore a pair of khaki pants, a lavender turtle neck, and orange sneakers.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Weren't you coming to fix my computer?" the boy asked the lavender-haired girl.

"Oh right," Yolei said slowly. "Sorry, I'm coming, Cody!" And with that said, the girl in magenta walked out the door with the younger boy at her side.

"Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed as he typed one last code in. "We're going back to the Digital World!"

"Then I'm going, too!" Davis said stubbornly.

"That's impossible!" T.K shook his head and held out his digivice as did the rest of his friends. "Not just anyone can go; you need a digivice to even activate the gate!"

_'He seems familiar…'_ Kagome thought as she watched Davis argue with T.K and izzy about why he should be able to go to the Digital World. T was then that she remembered a small snippet of a conversation Kagome and Kari had a while back.

* * *

-Flashback-

_"There's this kid in my class that kind of reminds of Tai," Kari said, playing with Meeko while Kagome read a book on her bed._

_"Oh?" Kagome put her book down at looked at her little sister. "You sound like you don't like him very much."_

_"I guess he's not really that bad," Kari said slowly, "But he's got this huge crush on me that so obvious anyone can see it! He can get really annoying when I try to talk to any of my guy friends since he's always getting jealous over the smallest things…"_

-End Flashback-

* * *

_'So he's the boy that's been crushing on her…'_ Kagome smirked. _'I wonder how Tai would take it…'_

Suddenly, the computer screen flashed as three bolts of light, one red, one yellow, and one blue popped out of the computer screen. The group in the computer lab gasped at the sight and watched as the red and yellow bolts headed out of the lab while the blue shot into Davis' hands.

"What's this?" Davis asked when the blue glow died down to reveal an small device resembling a walkie-talkie with a white body and blue accents.

"A digivice?" Kari gasped. "But it's a definitely a different model than the one we have."

"We'd better get going while the Digital Gate is open," Kagome reminded them.

"Hey, can I get Donkey Madness on this?" Davis asked, referring to the device in his hand.

"It's not a game and that's certainly not a toy!" Izzy snapped. "If the Digital World sends you a digivice, then it's for a reason that you should take seriously."

"I'm not waiting any longer," Kari stepped up to the computer and held her digivice in front of the screen, "I'm going to help my brother!" The screen glowed as Kari was sucked into the computer.

"I'm with you!" T.K nodded, doing the same with the same results.

"Don't forget about me," Kagome smirked as she, too, held up her digivice and getting taken into the computer.

"Your turn," Izzy said slyly, "Unless you're scared."

Davis growled. "I'm there!" And just like that Davis was taken through the portal as well.

* * *

-Digital World-

"Woah…My first time being downloaded," Davis shrugged. It was then that he noticed his new wardrobe. "And with a wicked wardrobe, too!"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

As of now, Davis sported a navy jacket with flames along the bottom and fur along the collar, a cream-hued shirt, a pair of olive shorts, and a pair of navy socks with orange high-tops. He wore a pair of yellow gloves and his goggles were still in place, having made it through the journey.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"And it looks like you're not the only one," T.K commented, looking at Kagome. "Nice outfit, Kagome!"

"Hm?" The raven-haired girl looked at the young blonde from where she was observing their surroundings. "My out—What am I wearing?!"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Kagome now wore a navy denim skirt that went down the ends of her thighs, a blue-green sleeveless turtleneck under a white short-sleeved crop jacket, and a pair of black ankle-high combat boots. She wore a pair of white fingerless gloves, and a brown belt with a pouch attached was slung around her hips.

Her hair was secured up in a high ponytail with a navy hair tie and her earrings were still in place.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"You don't look bad Kagome," Kari assured her sister.

"She's right, you look real pretty," T.K agreed.

"'Pretty' isn't a good enough word," Davis gaped. "She's hot!"

"I wouldn't let Tai hear that if I were you," Kari warned when her older sister flushed lightly.

"He'll nail you over one if you talk about his sister like that," T.K added.

Kari, T.K, and Kagome took out their digivices and started searching for a signal. "It's over this way," Kari called, leading them in the direction of her brother.

"This place doesn't seem so scary," Davis commented, "The way Tai described it, you'd be looking at monsters around every corner!" It was then that he spotted a vending machine.

Kari, Kagome, and T.K exchanged amused glances.

"Should we tell him?" T.K asked.

"Not a chance," Kari shook her head. "I wanna see his face…"

"What's a vending machine doing out here in the forest?" the maroon-haired boy muttered. "Actually, I am a little thirsty…"

Suddenly, instead of the cool drink he was expecting the come out of the machine, a whole horde of Numemon filtered out of the machine, leaving Davis on the ground with a hilariously freaked out expression.

Kagome, Kari, and T.K just burst out laughing at the sight.

"Very funny!" Davis glared at the amused trio. He got up and they began walking back on the trail they'd been on before. "So those were Digimon?"

"Yup," Kari answered. "There a lot more of them that are cuter than those Numemon, though."

"And a lot of scarier ones, too!" T.K added cheerfully.

"So…do they all come out of vending machines?" Davis asked.

"Not exactly," Kagome sweat-dropped.

"The digivice says that Tai's really close by," Kari spoke up.

It wasn't even a minute before they'd heard a familiar voice. "T.K!"

Patamon flew out and into the young blonde's arms, much to Davis' shock. "Patamon!" T.K said happily. "Am I glad to see you!"

"Kari!" Gatomon leapt into her partner's arms, snuggling into the girl.

"Gatomon," Kari smiled as she clutched the feline Digimon to her.

"Kudamon!" Kagome said happily as the fox-like Digimon swirled around the raven-haired girl for a moment before settling on her shoulders like before. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you!"

"And I you," Kudamon nuzzled his partner's cheek contently.

"You made it!" Tai ran out with Agumon right behind him.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Tai's hair was as big as ever, though he grew out of his lanky boyish form into that of a fit sixteen-year-old. Besides gaining some height, nothing more had changed.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Tai!" Davis exclaimed. "I told those guys you'd be all right!"

"Davis?" Tai looked dumbfounded at the younger boy's appearance. "What are you doing here?"

"Gatomon," Kari said seriously, "What happened to your tail ring?"

"We can't talk here," Agumon spoke up. "Let's go back to the cave and then we'll explain everything that's happened."

And with that said, the small group of humans and Digimon made their way to the cave Tai, Agumon, Patamon, Gatomon, and Kudamon had been hiding out in before they went out to look for Kagome and the others.

The feline Digimon's ear drooped a bit as she told her story. "I was attacked by Unimon, who was under the control of a Dark Ring. I managed to escape, but I had to leave my ring behind since it was caught under Unimon's hoof."

"Dark Ring?" T.K asked with narrowed eyes.

"One day, a bossy human appeared and started making Digimon his slaves," Gatomon explained, "He calls himself the 'Digimon Emperor!' I heard we're all going to have to punch a time clock, too!"

"Digimon Emperor?" Kagome whispered. "He wouldn't happen to have spiky hair, would he?"

"He does," Patamon confirmed. "Why?"

"Because I saw him," Kagome looked at her brother. "I saw him in another vision, I didn't know who or what it was so I just thought it was just a strange dream. But if I'm getting visions again, then it really means that the Digital World is in danger."

"There are more humans here?" T.K's eyes widened. "Well, there goes the neighborhood…"

"He has a strange new Dark Digivice that prevents us from Digivolving," Kudamon answered.

T.K whirled around to face Davis. "Show them yours!"

Davis was confused at first but then realized that they must be talking about the device that popped out of the computer. "Does it look like this?"

"That's it!" Gatomon fell into a battle stance, paws and claws at the ready. "You work with the Digimon Emperor!"

"Hold it," Davis waved his hands back and forth, "I don't work for anybody! I don't even think I can legally work yet! I just got this when it popped out of the computer!"

Unseen by everyone but Kagome, Tai's eyes narrowed. _'So that's what came out of the Digi-Egg when I touched it. Three new digivices! But why does Davis have one? What's his purpose in the Digital World? And more importantly, who's got the other two?'_

"The Dark Digivice drains our power, making us as weak as newborn kittens," Gatomon told them.

"Is that why you couldn't Digivolve?" Tai asked Agumon.

The orange dinosaur nodded. "Yeah! If I could Digivolve, then he wouldn't stand a chance!"

"The Digimon Emperor used his Dark Rings to take control of the Digimon to turn them into his salves," Kudamon added.

"But what would he need slaves for?" Kagome asked.

"To take over the Digital World?" Tai suggested slowly.

"No think about it," Kagome shook her head. "In history, slaves were used as servants to do a master's bidding. If this Digimon Emperor wanted to just take over the Digital World, he'd probably still use the collars, but not to control he Digimon as he is. He'd use the collars to keep them in line when they rebelled, but he isn't He's taking full control of the Digimon's mind and power. There must be a reason why."

"Kagome has a point," Kari pointed out. "Slaves are and were used to do work, not take over a foreign place. So what's he planning on using the Digimon for?"

"Guards?" Davis offered.

"Maybe a few of the stronger Digimon," T.K conceded, "But what about the younger or weaker Digimon that aren't up to a certain level? What would he be doing with them?"

The group fell silent as they tried to come up with some explanation.

"Digimon Emperor my foot!" Kari burst out. "I'll slap a Dark Ring on him!"

Kagome's head snapped up. "Kudamon, get me a very hard rock, something that won't easily break under pressure or momentum," she ordered quietly.

Kudamon looked questioningly at his partner, but nodded nevertheless and set out to find what was asked of him.

The group looked at the raven-haired girl curiously, but Kagome only waited for Kudamon to come back to her. She didn't have to wait long because it was then that Kudamon zipped back around her neck and handed her the pebble he'd found.

Quicker than anyone was able to tell, Kagome spun around and chucked the stone towards a floating black ring situated above them.

"A Dark Ring!" Gatomon gasped when she saw the rock Kagome threw at said object pierce through, destroying it. "How did you do that?"

"I just had a feeling it would work," Kagome winked.

"I've been meaning to ask," Tai remembered," Just _what_ are you wearing?"

"That what I said when I saw myself," Kagome said dryly. "But I don't know. One minute I'm in my uniform, the next, I'm in the Digital World looking like this."

"Hey, Tai," Agumon nudged his partner when the brown-haired teen was about to say something else in return, "Why don't you show them the thing we found?"

"Yeah," Tai nodded. "Come on, there's something you guys need to see." He led the group deeper into the cave to where a small flame-designed egg with a blade-like horn sticking out of it and the Crest of Courage etched onto it.

"Looks like a deflated beach ball," T.K tilted his head. "No wonder! It's got a spike through it!" He went over to it and tried to lift the egg.

"Yeah except it's heavier than my mom's meatloaf," Tai commented.

"It won't budge!" T.K grunted.

"Step aside, this is a woman's job," Kari walked up to the egg and tried pulling on it as well, but to no avail. The egg just wouldn't allow itself to be dislodged. "It really is stuck!"

"I guess it's your turn next, Kagome," Kari told her older sister, who only raised an eyebrow.

"I don't even have the Crest of Courage and you expect me to pull that up?" Kagome asked.

"It wouldn't hurt to try," T.K added.

"All right," Kagome sighed. She stepped towards the egg and went to grab it, but the moment her fingers touched the surface, an image of Davis and an unknown blue Digimon flashed through her mind.

Kagome got back up and looked at Davis. _'It looks like it's him that'll pull the egg out…but why? Tai posses the Crest of Courage, so why is Davis the one to pull out the egg? And get a Digimon from it in the process?'_

"Is something wrong?" Tai asked his sister.

"No," Kagome shook her head as she walked away from the egg.

"Then why didn't you try pulling it out?" T.K asked.

"Because it's not supposed to be me who pulls it out," Kagome told them. She looked at Davis. "It's him. This egg belongs to him despite the Crest originally belonging to Tai."

Davis looked at the older girl for a moment before glancing at the egg. He took a deep breath and stepped towards the object and placed his hands on it, wrapping them around tightly. With a grunt, Davis tugged on the egg and after what seemed to be at least two minutes, the egg popped off the ground with Davis landing on the dirt due to the force he exerted on the egg.

"Hey, I did it!" Davis held up the egg excitedly.

"What could this mean?" Kari asked.

"I don't know," Tai answered when suddenly a stream of orange sparks shot out of the hole the egg left behind.

The group watched in awe as a form appeared within the sparks before jumping out at Davis. It was a small blue and white Digimon with a yellow 'v' marking on his head and ruby eyes.

"Hi, I'm Veemon, but you can just call me Veemon!" Veemon grinned as he bounced aroud a baffled Davis.

"My name's Davis," the maroon-haired boy said slowly.

"Hey I know that Digimon!" Agumon exclaimed. **"That's Veemon. Supposedly he's a fun-loving, adventure-seeking little Digimon that brings you good luck. But I thought he was just a legend!"**

"Nope!" Veemon shook his head. "I'm real alright! And I've been waiting for you for a long time, Davis!"

"You sure you don't have the wrong guy?" Davis asked. "'Cause I don't think I'm the one you're looking for."

"Nope, you're definitely him!" Veemon nodded. "Because you were the only one to move the Digi-Egg of Courage!"

_'That's right,'_ Tai thought. _'I couldn't move the egg even though I have the Crest of Courage, but _Davis could_…'_

Suddenly a violent tremor rocked the cave. "What's that? An earthquake?" Davis asked.

"No, look up there!" T.K gasped.

"It's a monster!" Davis cried out when what looked like a black and white triceratops bust through the roof of the cave, falling in.

"No, it's a Digimon!" Kari shouted.

**"Monochromon!"** T.K breathed out. **"His shell is harder than diamonds! His attack, Volcanic Strike, sends out millions of fireballs!"**

"Pepper Breath!"

"Boom Bubble!"

"Glorious Whirlwind!"

"Let's go!" Kagome shouted. "We need to get out here while we can! Monochromon's not himself, remember?!"

The group nodded just as the attack bounced off Monochromon's black shell, making him angry enough to spew out a couple fireballs at them. "Volcanic Strike!"

The group ran as quickly as they could out of the cave and down the slop a few metres before it, though Davis was noticeably lagging behind.

"Davis!" Tai shouted up to boy. "Come on!"

"Volcanic Strike!" Monochromon released yet another fireball, and while it didn't hit Davis, or even Kari when it dashed by her, the girl in pink had twisted her ankle when she tried dodging the attack.

"Tai!" Kagome called to her brother as she stayed by her sister.

"What's up?" Tai asked when he made his way to his siblings.

"I can't move my ankle," Kari whimpered slightly.

"Okay, here, we have to move quickly," Tai offered his back and Kagome helped ease Kari onto him. "Now, let's go!"

It was then that the group heard Davis shout as he held up the Digi-Egg of Courage. "Digi-Armour Energize!"

"Digi-Armour—" Tai began.

"Energize?" T.K raised an eyebrow.

But they had no time to think on that as they watched Veemon Digivolve by combining with the Digi-Egg of Courage. "Veemon Armour Digivolve to: Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

"What's that?" Davis blinked at the sight of the completely new Digimon. "Is that Veemon?"

**"I am Flamedramon,"** said Digimon told them, **"As Veemon, I used the Digi-Egg of Courage to Armour Digivolve. My 'Fire Rocket' attack will charbroil the enemy like a well-done steak!"**

"Definitely didn't see that one coming," Kagome whistled.

Monochromon charged at Flamedramon, but the newly evolved Digimon stopped him and flipped the larger Digimon over as though it were nothing.

"Volcanic Strike!" Monochromon shot out several fireballs at Flamedramon, but the Digimon just clawed through them all.

Unfortunately, when he tried to attack Monochromon head on, the Digimon flipped him off with his snout high into the air.

The group of humans and Digimon on the ground just watched in awe as Flamedramon stopped in mid-air as his body was suddenly engulfed by flames. "Fire Rocket!" He hurled himself at Monochromon with a steep dive.

"Barbeque that Dark Ring, Flamedramon!" Gatomon shouted.

The only indication at Flamedramon had even heard Gatomon was the slight flicker of his eyes and the abrupt change in course when his target was turned to the Dark Ring. He hit the object hard, though it looked like a mere tap.

Suddenly, the ring began to crack once before more cracks sprouted form that once fissure, eventually causing the ring to dissipate into nothingness.

Everyone watched as an orange glow overcame Flaemdramon as he turned back to Veemon, the orange light zapping into Davis' Digivice and then bouncing into his pocket, where he pulled out a new D-Terminal. He opened it up and found the shape of an egg on the screen.

Kagome walked over to the now exhausted and dazed Monochromon. "There, there, you don't have to fight anymore," Kagome soothed. She began to hum lightly, seeing the Digimon relax. Eventually Monochromon nuzzled Kagome before getting up and leaving.

"Goodbye, Monochromon!" T.K shouted.

"Stay safe!" Kari added.

"I can't believe something so small could make a Digimon change so much," T.K frowned, referring to the Dark Rings.

Kagome frowned in the direction Monochromon left in, thinking about what had happened that day and what they learned.

_'It looks like whoever this Digimon Emperor is, Monochromon won't have been the only Digimon he captured and put under his control,' _Kagome's eyes narrowed. _'I still stand by what I said earlier. There has to be a reason why he's using the Digimon like this. It almost feels like he's treating this as a game and those that don't follow his rules will get hurt or destroyed.'_

"Hey, the sun's going down!" Patamon pointed out. "Thank goodness!"

"Is there something significant about the sunset?" T.K asked.

"No one knows why, but the Digimon Emperor never comes out at night," Kudamon answered.

"Speaking of," Agumon spoke up, "Shouldn't you be getting home?"

"Yeah," Tai nodded, "But the question is how?" He turned to Davis. "Be careful, never say for too long."

The group began walking to the area where they'd phased into the Digital World when they heard voices talking.

_"Hey, Izzy, Cody's back so can we go to the Digital World now?"_ Yolei asked.

_"I don't know,"_ Izzy replied. _"The gate might close; it's just not safe."_

The group looked at the source of the voices and found it to be a tiny TV monitor showing the image of Izzy, Yolei and Cody at the school computer lab.

_"Hey, what does it mean when the light on that thing goes on?"_ Yolei asked.

_"What thing?"_ Izzy asked, munching on a brownie.

_"The thing on the computer!" _Yoeli pointed to the screen. _"I just saw the li—AAAAH!"_

"Yo, it's Davis," the Maroon-haired boy knelt before the small device, "Let me in!"

It was then that a bright blue light shined out of the TV screen and onto the humans of the group, pulling them in.

"That's not something you see every day," Agumon commented, baffled.

* * *

-Hamasaki Academy; Computer Lab-

Tai, his siblings, Davis, and T.K burst out of the computer, crashing down onto Izzy with a shout.

"Hey get off me, you're squishing my brownie!" Izzy all but yelled out.

"Where are we?" Tai asked.

"I think we're back at the computer lab at school," T.K answered.

"Where'd you come from when you came out of the computer?" Cody asked.

"Where?" Davis parroted. "The Digital World, of course! The coolest place ever!"

"Enough!" Yolei shouted. "Let's go back!"

"I think we've had enough excitement for one day," Cody said rationally, trying to placate the lavender-haired girl.

"But don't you want to go to the Digital World, Cody?" Yolei asked.

"Yeah, seeing those monsters would be cool," Cody nodded. "But it's Macaroni and cheese at my place tonight and I don't want to miss it."

"It's Chicken Teriyaki at our place," Tai nodded, Kari still latched onto his back.

"Stuffed green peppers with salad," Izzy said.

"TV dinners and a microwave," T.K sighed.

Yolei twitched. "No fair!" She burst into tears. "I want to go to the Digital World!"

"Don't worry, Yolei," T.K told her, "You'll get a chance."

"When?!" Yolei all but shouted.

"Kagome," Tai whispered low enough for no one else to hear.

"Hm?" Kagome hummed her reply.

"I want you to message everyone you can and tell them that we need to meet up tonight," the brown-haired teen told his sister.

Kagome glanced at her brother and gave a nod before taking out her D-Terminal, shooting off e-mails one by one to their friends.

* * *

-That Night; Park-

Eight of the nine original DigiDestined sat or stood in different areas of the playground in solemn silence.

"There he is!" T.K grinned, standing up.

"Hey, guys, sorry I'm late," Matt said, walking onto the scene, guitar case strapped to his back.

"Hey Matt," Sora smiled, jumping down from a piece of play equipment. "It's been a while since we've seen each other like this."

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Sora hadn't changed too much other than gaining a few more inches and losing some baby fat. Her hair had gorwn out a bit and her bangs were now brushed to the side.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"So what's all this about?" Joe asked. "Not that I'm not glad to see you guys; I just need to know why Kagome's e-mail sounded so urgent." He looked at the raven-haired girl, who only flushed lightly.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Joe's hair had grown out to his shoulders and the shape of his glasses certainly changed to give him a more mature and sophisticated look. But other than that, he didn't seem to have changed much, unless you count the added inches to his height and the subtle sign that he was working out.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Tai, Kari, Kagome, and T.K took turns explaining what had happened today when they went to the Digital World. The reactions of their friends were exactly as they knew it would be. Shock, horror, and worry.

"Digi-Armour Energize, huh?" Matt muttered.

"It's apparently a new form of Digivolving," Kagome explained. "We've never seen it before! Somehow the Digimon digivolves using an egg, kind of how our Digimon Digivolved using the power of our crests."

"And Davis' Digimon was able to do it," Tai added, "But Agumon and the others couldn't Digivolve at all!"

"Davis of the soccer club?" Sora blinked. "He went to the Digital World?"

T.K nodded. "That's right, and two other kids from my apartment complex, Cody and Yolei, also got new digivices!"

"Well if they have new Digivices," Joe said, "Then it just means that they're the new DigiDestined."

"My thoughts exactly," Izzy nodded.

"One question," Sora spoke up. "If this Digimon Emperor is really hunting Digimon and making them his slaves, will Biyomon and the others be okay?"

"Mimi e-mailed me about the same thing," Kagome replied. "I'll hope and pray they will be and they are, but that can only do so much…"

"Then I say we go and do things our way," Matt told them.

"I've already tried," Izzy shook his head. "When I went back to check the computer, the gate was closed."

"Then that means…we can't go back?" Sora whispered.

"I'm going back first thing tomorrow morning to see if I can get the gate to open back up," Izzy informed them.

"Then I'm going with you!" Tai told the auburn-haired genius.

"So am I!" Sora nodded.

"Don't forget the three of us," Kagome gestured to T.K, Kari, and herself.

Joe shook his head. "I can't; I have an oral test on Laryngitis tomorrow."

Matt nodded. "And my band and I have to practice since our big concert's coming up."

"Don't worry," Kagome told him, "Everything'll be fine; you'll see."

"Just make sure you tell me what happens," Matt said.

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	17. Book Two: Two More for the Team

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

AN:I honestly had no clue how this would turn out considering the fact that I had no clue as to how to start the bloody chapter, but I think it came out all right.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-Two More for the Team-Xx**

-Hamasaki Academy; Computer Lab-

"How's it goin', guys?" Davis greeted when he, T.K, Kari, Tai, Kagome, and Sora stepped into the computer lab.

"Hi, everyone," Sora smiled.

"Alright, you three," T.K looked at Davis, Yolei, and Cody, "Show Sora your Digivices."

The trio looked at each other before holding them out. All were same in body shape and style, but the colouring was different for each one thought they all had white bodies. While Davis' had blue accents, Yolei's had red, and Cody's yellow.

"So those are the new Digivices," Sora mused, looking at the different models curiously.

Tai nodded, "They appeared when I touched the Digi-Egg of Courage."

"Then what are waiting for?" Yolei asked excitedly. "Let's go!"

"Wait a second," Davis stopped the lavender-haired girl. "Maybe I should give you some pointers first."

"Come on," Yolei scoffed, "You've only been there once!"

_'And usually once is enough to tell you that it's not all fun and games,'_ Kagome shook her head.

"I think we should at least be prepared for some danger if what we've heard from Izzy is correct," Cody suggested.

But before Yolei could form a proper response, Izzy walked back towards them. "It's just as I thought: The Digital Gate only opens on this terminal here, and not only that, but it's never opened two days in a row before!"

"Well, then all ashore that's goin' ashore!" Davis exclaimed.

The group nodded and spoke their agreement.

"Tai? Tai Kamiya, is that you?" came a voice from behind them.

Kagome, Sora, Izzy, and Kagome froze as everyone turned to see who it was.

"M-Mr. Fujiyama?" Tai stuttered out. "W-What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" the teens' former elementary teacher walked into the lab. "What are you four doing here? Didn't you all graduate? Izzy, Sora, Kagome, it's real great to see you again!"

"Yeah, but what are you doing in the computer lab?" Sora asked nervously.

"Well, I'm the new head of the Computer Club!" the teacher boasted.

"Computer Club?" Kagome and Sora blinked. "But what do you know about computers?" the raven-haired girl asked.

"Absolutely nothing!" the teacher said cheerily.

The former students of Mr. Fujiyama sweat-dropped. _'We should've known…'_

"I just remembered!" Tai said loudly, getting everyone's attention. "I had something I need to talk to you about. You got a minute?" He started pushing his former teacher out of the computer lab.

"Sure," Mr. Fujiyama answered. "What's up?"

"I-I'm just having some trouble adjusting to high school," Tai made up the excuse, "It's the girls, you know?" He threw them a peace sign as he left.

"We definitely owe you one, Tai," Sora breathed a sigh of relief.

"Of all the things to ask about," Kagome commented, "He chose girls?" She looked at Sora. "Is he implying something?"

The orange-haired teen shrugged. "Who knows? Tai will always be Tai."

"Let's get going!" Izzy nodded to the Digital Gate as everyone crowded around the terminal.

In response, everyone took out their Digivices and held them up to the screen. Just like before, a bluish light enveloped them as they were slowly being taken into the computer.

* * *

-Digital World-

"Is everyone okay?" Izzy asked when they all landed safely on what seemed to be a grassy hill.

"Yeah, but I feel like I've gone through the rinse cycle of a dishwasher!" Davis shook his head to get rid of the dizzy spell he'd been hit with during their trip.

"So this is the Digital World," Cody looked around in awe. He then looked down at himself. "And I'm wearing new clothes, too! Huh, they pretty comfortable…"

"Me, too!" Yolei looked down at her new outfit. "I feel like a part of the cool crowd now!"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Yolei wore a pair of red high-waisted pants that were baggy around the thighs but tighter from the knees down, a blue long-sleeved turtleneck under a khaki vest, a pair of mint-green and white mid-calf-high boots, a pair of white gloves and an orange helmet. Her glasses had made it through her trip, still sitting atop her nose.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Cody now wore a pair of maroon pants with a cream-hued long-sleeved shirt and a pair of brown and white sneakers.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"I definitely forgot about the new wardrobe" Davis mused. "Maybe I should've warned them…"

"Looks like you got a clothing change, too, Kagome," Sora pointed out.

Kagome nodded with a sheepish grin. "I don't know why, but at least this means that my school uniform won't get trashed enough for Mama to have to get a new one."

"That's true," Izzy nodded.

"Oh wait till I tell my sisters that I got free clothes!" Yolei squealed. "They'll be so jealous!"

"I wonder if they've got anything in a surfer style," Davis commented.

The four members of the previous DigiDestined just watched in astonishment as the the three new DigiDestined went on about the clothes with excitement.

"Kids today have no sense of value," Sora shook her head. "When I was a kid, I showed a lot more respect whenever I received a gift."

"I hate to say this, but you kinda sounded like my mom right there," Kari sweat-dropped, giggling all the while.

"We'd better get going if we want to check up on the others," Kagome announced.

The group nodded and began walking in a random direction, the teens calling out for their respective Digimon all the way.

"Biyomon!"

"Tentomon!"

"Kudamon!"

"Gatomon!"

"Patamon!"

"VEEMON!" Davis shouted at the top of his lungs, cupping his hands around his mouth the amplify the sound. "VEEMON! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"Davis!" came the faint voice of Veemon. "I'm over here, Davis!"

"Veemon!" Davis went over the shake hands with his Digimon. "It's great to see you!"

"You, too!" Veemon nodded before turning back around. "I brought Patamon and his friends with me!"

The group looked up to see Gatomon, Patamon, Kudamon, Tentomon, and Biyomon headed their way. Immediately, each partner headed over to each other as quickly as they could when they caught sight of each other.

"Well aren't you a sight for big, sore, green eyes!" Tentomon exclaimed.

"Tentomon," Izzy grinned.

"I've missed you a lot, Sora," Biyomon nuzzled her partner when the orange-haired girl took her up in a tight embrace.

It was then that Kagome's head snapped up from where Kudamon was nuzzling his partner. "Something's here…Another Dark Ring!"

"What?!" the group looked at her in alarm, though Yolei and Cody looked comfused.

"Where?" Kari asked worriedly.

"Up there," Kagome looked up to where a large cloud was passing over them.

"Um, are you sure?" Yolei asked, silently questioning the older girl's sanity. "That's just a cloud."

"My sister doesn't lie," Kari shook her head. "If she says something's there, it's there all right."

"And she was right!" Tentomon shouted when the cloud had passed, leaving behind a giant green insectoid Digimon with blade-like arms that ahd a Dark Ring snapped around his mid-section. "It's Snimon!"

Just as quickly as Snimon was seen, it dived, aiming straight at Sora and Biyomon.

"Look out!" T.K shouted, pushing the pair down to the ground to dodge Snimon's attack.

"Spiral Twister!"

"Boom Bubble!"

"Super Shocker!"

"Glorious Whirlwind!"

The attacks were all aimed at the green Digimon, but it avoided every single one of them.

"Lightning Paw!" Gatomon landed a solid punch on the Digimon's face, but was batted away with its blade.

"I'm sorry," the feline Digimon said weakly. "But without my tail ring, I just don't have enough power!"

"Then just leave everything to us!" Veemon nodded. "Davis, get the egg ready!"

"Wait!" Kagome cried out, but her call was left unheard.

"You got it!" Davis nodded, clutching his Digivice.

Unfortunately, before Davis could even activate the egg, the ground underneath him crumbled, leaving the maroon-haired boy to drop into a deep crater. Luckily, he managed to grab onto the side of the crater before he fell any farther.

Davis looked down and saw that the crater was caused by another Digimon, this one looking like a purple and white mole with a huge drill nose. A Dark Ring was clasped around one of his front paws.

**"That's Drimogemon!"** Tentomon told them. **"He lives deep inside the cavities of the digital world. His drill spin attack will make you wish you were at the dentist."**

"You okay, Davis?" Veemon asked.

"We've got another one headed out way!" Kagome informed them.

"From where?" Izzy asked.

"I can't tell," Kagome shook her head.

It was then that a large white Digimon that resembled a Yeti came through a cluster of trees nearby.

**"That's Mojyamon!"** Tentomon reported. **"He's a frosty Digimon that lives in the snowy mountains. His Bone Boomerang attack will make your head spin!**

"Bone Boomerang!" Mojyamon sent said object flying at Veemon before anyone could speak so much as a warning.

As a result, Veemon was sent plummeting into the crater Davis was stuck in, only this time both of them, along with Drimogemon fell deeper and deeper into the chasm until they couldn't be seen anymore.

"They're gone," Yolei fell to her knees, trembling, "The ground just opened up and swallowed them…"

"I thinkI want to go home now," Cody said, his body shaking as much as Yolei's.

_'Poor kids,'_ Kagome's eyes softened a bit, _'They were so excited to come, but not once did they think about the dangers here. But it's better to learn that now instead of later; this place isn't as nice as we think, or at least it isn't right now, not with the Digimon Emperor' on the loose.'_

"We need to find shelter first," Kagome told them.

"But what about Davis?" Cody asked.

"Spiral Twister!"

"Boom Bubble!"

"Super Shocker!"

"Glorious Whirlwind!"

"Davis'll be fine," Sora told them. "But our Digimon are only at half strength right now and I don't know just how much longer they'll last. We need to get away!"

Suddenly, Yolei burst into tears. "I wanna go home!"

"Come on," Kagome pulled the sobbing girl up and dragging her along as they all ran. "This isn't the time for tears. You wanted to come here and you did. We tried warning you that the Digital World isn't a place without danger, but you didn't listen to us. You need to get a hold of yourself!"

The group fled into the forest, sticking close together with the Digimon right beside them.

"Hey, my Digivice is starting to make some weird noise!" Cody's proclamation stopped them.

T.K, Kari, Kagome, and Yolei brought theirs out as well, hearing the same beeping noise.

"Ours are going off, too," T.K said, looking at the Digivices he, Kari and Kagome had.

"There must be something nearby," Izzy said logically.

"There is," Kagome nodded. "I can feel it…"

"It looks like it could be some kind of building," Sora peered down at Kari's screen.

"There aren't any buildings around here, are there?" Biyomon looked up at Tentomon.

"Nope," the insectoid Digimon answered. "Just the temple."

"A temple?" Sora asked.

Biyomon nodded. "But it's been abandoned for a while now."

"Well, where is it?" Izzy asked.

"It's just past the thicket over there," Tentomon pointed at the cluster of threes to their right.

The group pushed through branches and bushes until they found themselves before a ginat temple that resembled something the Aztecs or Mayans had built so long ago.

"Hasn't anyone heard of escalator?!" Yolei whined.

_'She reminds me of someone…'_ Kagome mused, trying to figure out just who it was that the lavender-haired girl reminded her of.

"Well, look at this way, Yolei," Biyomon said brightly, "Only a few more steps to go!" She gestured to a long staircase.

Yolei only sighed.

When the group reached the top of the staircase, they found two small podiums, each with a Digi-Egg on top.

The first had a yellow Digi-Egg with the Crest of Knowledge done in violet, while the other was silver with what seemed to be bat wings and the Crest of Loved etched in violet.

Izzy and Sora looked at each other and nodded before going over to the Digi-Eggs to try and lift them up. But like with Tai, the eggs didn't budge.

_'Could they be for Yolei and Cody, then?'_ Kagome wondered. _'Just like the Digi-Egg of Courage went to Davis?'_

"They won't budge," Sora shook her head.

Kagome tapped Cody and Yolei's shoulders. "Why don't you two give it a try? Cody, take the one on the left and Yolei, you take the one on the right."

"Of course!" Izzy's eyes widened when he remembered what Tai said about him not being able to pull the Digi-Egg of Courage out, but Davis could. He looked at Sora and knew that she, too, had remembered the same.

"Go on," Sora nodded.

"You want us to try?" Yolei blinked. She and Cody looked at each other.

"If you say so," the young boy said nervously.

The two new DigiDestined stepped up to the eggs Kagome had designated for them and placed their hands on them. They took a deep breath and lifted the eggs free with no hassle.

"It seems we were correct, then," Izzy nodded.

Just then, like it had happened with Davis, two geysers of coloured sparks shot out of the places where the Digi-Eggs had sat; red from under the Digi-Egg of Love and violet from the Digi-Egg of Knowledge. And also like before, two Digimon began appearing from within each of the spouts.

From the red stream came a white and red bird Digimon with blue eyes and a black belt attached around his head holding up the yellow feather on the back of his head.

From the violet stream came a yellow Digimon that resembled a large armadillo with green eyes.

"Howdy!" the yellow armadillo greeted Cody. "Name's Armadillomon and we're partners!"

"Pleasure to meet you, Yolei," the bird-like Digimon walked up to the lavender-haired girl. "My name is Hawkmon and we'll be fighting together from now on!"

"What?" Yolei freaked out. "Fight? Me? Na-uh! No way! I've only ever fought with my sister over who gets the last cookie!"

Sora and Kagome shared a glance. They finally figure out who the lavender-haired girl reminded them of.

Mimi.

"So you refuse to fight?" Hawkmon blinked at his partner. "Hmph! Why is it that I get the defective human?!"

Sora and Kagome walked up to the girl. "Yolei," the orange-haired girl spoke.

"Sora?" Kagome?" Yolei looked from one older girl to the other. "Is something wrong?"

"We have a friend kind of like you. Her name is Mimi," Kagome explained. "She never liked fighting anymore than you did."

"But she did it anyway for the Digital World," Sora picked up, "Yolei, the more you help your Digimon, the more you'll grow closer to them."

"And that's a friendship you'll carry with you for the rest of your life," Kagome finished with a gentle smile.

"And you've got two more friends for life, too," Sora and Kagome clasped their hands over Yolei's. "Us."

Yolei looked surprised for a moment, but smiled anyway.

"What do you think about the Digital World so far, Cody?" Izzy asked.

"I don't really know," Cody shrugged. "I've only been here for a short time, after all."

"But you must have some sort of opinion already," Izzy pressed.

"Well, I try not to judge things until I have all the information," Cody explained, "But this place is so new to me, and I have so many unanswered questions. I'm afraid I don't know where to start first."

"You seem like a curious kid who just wants to know all the facts. Sounds like someone I know," Izzy chuckled.

"So what should I do?" Cody asked.

"Do what I did," the auburn-haired genius told the younger body. "Learn to trust your instincts. And if there's ever a problem you can't solve, then come to me and we'll solve it together."

Cody grinned and gave nod. "Okay!"

Yolei and Cody turned to their partner Digimon and their Digi-Eggs began to glow their respective colours, violet and red.

"Pardon me," Hawkmon interrupted. "But in order for us to Armour Digivolve, you must say 'Digi-Armour Energize'."

Cody and Yolei nodded. "Digi-Armour Energize!"

Immediately, the two new Digimon began fusing with the Digi-Egg their partner held.

"Hawkmon Armour Digivolve to: Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"

**"I am an Armor Digimon. As Hawkmon, I used the Digi-Egg of Love to armor digivolve. I use my Tempest Wing attack to defeat my enemies,"** Halsemon recited.

Halsemon was a large four-legged bird-like creature with a silver mask resembling the Digi-Egg of Love.

"Armadillomon Armour Digivolve to: Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"

**"I too am an Armor Digimon. As Armadillomon, I used the Digi-Egg of Knowledge to armor digivolve," **Digmon said.

Digmon was a large golden insectoid Digimon with drill bits for hands and one for a nose. The Crest of Knowledge along with other violet markings were etched upon his yellow shell.

"Now, what do say we find the others?" Digmon asked.

The group just watched at the two Armour-Digivolved Digimon in awe.

"But how are we supposed to find them?" Yolei asked.

"Leave that to me," Kagome told them.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Leave him alone!" Davis shouted to the Digimon Emperor as the Dark Ring edged closer and closer to Veemon.

"Eagle Eye!" two beams of red light were shot at the Dark Ring, destroying it.

"What?!" The Digimon Emperor growled.

"Hold on Davis, we're coming!" Yolei shouted from on top of Halsemon.

"Get Veemon!" Davsi told the lavender-haired girl. But he needn't have worried because just then Digimon burst in on the scene through the cliff wall behind Veemon, clutching the small Digimon in his arms.

"Sorry to burst in on you like this!" Digmon joked.

"You coulda knocked!" Veemon grinned.

The Digimon Emperor gritted his teeth and tried to escape, but found Gatomon standing there, poised to attack. "This litterbox ain't big enough for the two of us," she said.

"Keep your claws to yourself, you big bully!" A small green caterpillar-like Digimon jumped before the Digimon Emperor. He jumped at Gatomon.

"Lightning Paw!" Gatomon batted the bug-type Digimon out of the way and into the very person he was protecting.

"You're useless!" The Digimon Emperor shouted at the insect Digimon when he dropped Davis' D-Terminal and Digivice.

"Thank you!" Yolei called when he caught the two devices.

The Digimon Emperor growled before taking out his bullwhip and snapping it towards Gatomon. "Here Kitty!" However, instead of binding the target he was going for, the fall wrapped itself around the arm of a human.

Gatomon, who's closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable to happen, opened them when she didn't felt the leather wrapping around her. She looked up and saw Kagome standing tall behind her, the fall of the whip wrapped tightly around her arm.

The Digimon Emperor only growled louder, trying to tug the raven-haired girl to him and off the ledge, but she held tight, unmoving.

"Kagome!" Gatomon said worried when she saw the leather tighten and bit into her skin just a bit.

"I'll be fine," Kagome grunted. "Get back to the others! Go!"

"Snimon! Mojyamon! Drimogemon!" The Digimon Emperor called, loosening his whip around the girl's arm and bringing it back to him.

Each of the three named Digimon came out from a separate hiding place, aiming to go for the DigiDestined.

"Need a lift?" Yolei asked, swooping down to Kagome.

"Absolutely," Kagome nodded, getting onto Halsemon as they swooped down to the bottom of the canyon where the others were already at.

"Here you go," Yolei gave Davis his D-Terminal and Digivice back.

"Kagome!" Kudamon flew up to his partner and situated himself around her shoulders once more. "Don't ever leave me behind again!" he chastised her. It was then that he caught sight of her arm. "What happened to you?!"

The group turned to Kagome at that and gasped at the sight of her arm. There were bruised marks from where the whip had wrapped around her arm and there was some blood from the places the leather had bit into her skin.

"Kagome!" Kari ran over to her sister and looked over the appendage. "What happened?"

"The Digimon Emperor's what happened," Gatomon hissed. "He was about to use his whip on me, but Kagome stepped in and took the hit…"

"Here," Sora took her red ribbon off of her school uniform and wrapped it gently, but firmly, around the raven-haired girl's arm. "This won't be as good as a real bandage, but it should hold for a while." She looked at Kagome. "You won't try and do this all the time, will you?"

"Who knows?" Kagome shrugged. "I'll try not to get into situations like this, but you know I won't stand by let others get hurt."

"Tai's gonna have a cow…" T.K sighed lowly.

"That's it!" Davis shouted angrily. "It's time for a little payback!" He turned to Veemon. "What do you say?"

"Count me in!" Veemon nodded determinedly.

"Digi-Armour Energize!" Davis shouted.

"Veemon Armour-Digivolve to: Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

"Let's show them what Armour Digimon can really do!" Flamedramon spoke. "Attack!"

"The you'd better hold on tight, Yolei!" Halsemon told his partner.

"Okay!" Yolei agreed before they launched into the air at Snimon while Digmon began drilling into the earth to go after Drimogemon.

The group watched as Mojyamon launched an icicle at Flamedramon. "When it's fire against ice," Flamedramon chuckled as he caught the icicle, melting it in his glowing claws, "Fire always wins. Flame Fist!" He launched a couple fireballs at Mojyamon.

The yeti-like Digimon was engulfed in flames before the group saw his Dark Ring shatter into nothing.

"Yes!" Davis cheered.

They looked up to see how Yolei was doing and was just in time to watch Halsemon throw out his Tempest Wing attack at Snimon, shattering his Dark Ring as well.

Thought they couldn't see Digmon and Drimogemon, when the two popped up out of the ground and Drimogemon was no longer violent, they understood that the insectoid Digimon destroyed Drimogemon's Dark Ring.

"Are you all right?" Kagome and Kari stepped up to the three, now calmed, Digimon to look them over.

"Sorry we had to fight you, but we needed to destroy the Dark Rings," Veemon explained. "I hope we're still friends."

"It's all right," Mojyamon told them, "We're just grateful that you saved us all." The three Digimon turned around and walked off, or in Snimon's case, flew off. The group waved the three Digimon goodbye as they left.

"Digimon Emperor!" Davis said angrily, more so when he saw the makeshift bandage around Kagome's arm. "I'll show him who's in charge!"

Kagome and the rest of the former DigiDestined watched as the new generation got along with their Digimon.

"I guess they don't need us anymore," Sora commented.

"I don't think that's true," Izzy spoke, 'I still think we have a lot of work ahead of us."

"We can still help out to fight against the Emperor," Biyomon suggested.

"And offer them advice and guidance when they need it," Tentomon added.

"What a team," Sora smiled.

"I think it's time to go home!" Davis shouted out to the rest of the group, who agreed.

* * *

-Hamasaki High; Computer Lab-

"What happened to you guys?!" Tai asked, surprised when he saw the group bunched together on the floor with a few Digimon with them.

"Please don't ask," they all said in unison.

"Hey, the Digimon all returned to their In-Training forms," Tai observed.

"Wha?" Davis looked up at a tiny DemiVeemon on his head.

"Oh you're adorable!" Yolei cuddled the small pink puffball that was Poyomon.

"I don't understand how such a tiny ting like this can turn into a huge Digimon like Digmon," Cody commented, looking at Upamon.

"Is this going to happen every time we come back?" Kari asked.

"And I thought Digivolving was a tough job," Patamon commented.

"At least we made it back to the real world safe and sound," T.K pointed out. _'Or at least, most of us,'_ his eyes darkened when he remembered Kagome's injury.

"Everyone's here except Biyomon and Tentomon…" Sora mused.

"Don't worry, Sora!" Biyomon said from the computer screen. "We'll be all right since the Digimon Emperor never comes out at night."

"Imagine that; so much power and yet he's afraid of the dark!" Tentomon said.

"Well, you'd better get some rest," Sora told them. "In fact, we all should be heading home by now."

The group agreed and headed for home after the Digimon, bar Kudamon, insisted that they stay in the Computer Lab so as not to arouse suspicion.

* * *

-Kamiya Residence-

"You're not going to tell Tai?" Kudamon asked as he helped Kagome wrap bandages around her arm. Kagome had already cleaned and disinfected the wound and iced it down a bit when they'd gotten home.

Kagome shook her head. "If he knows, he'll only blame himself and I don't want him to do that," she replied. "Besides, I did this on my own, so there's no one but that brat to blame."

"Brat?" Kudamon said amused as Kagome pulled the sleeve of her long-sleeved shirt down over her arm. Normally she'd go to bed in a tank top or even a t-shirt, but in order for no one get suspicious, she had to cover up. At least her school uniform was conservative enough.

"The Digimon Emperor, of course," Kagome said as if it were obvious. "He's nothing more than a spoiled brat who'll do whatever he wants whenever he wants because he thinks he's allowed."

"And how would we go about dethroning him?" the fox-like Digimon asked.

"We'd need to find more Digi-Armour Eggs," Kagome replied. "I have a feeling that those just may be the key to taking him down."

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	18. Book Two: The Digi-Team Complete

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!**

AN: All right, as you might have noticed, I changed the way the school uniforms look, so therefore the ribbon colour, and everything else overall would obviously be different. Oh and I think I'd forgotten to mention this as well, all the former DigiDestined go the same school as the new DigiDestined. I mentioned that the Academy was separated into two one section for the Middle School and the other for the High School.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-The Digi-Team Complete-Xx**

-Hamasaki Academy-

Kagome sat down at her desk, careful not to bump her arm against anything. Although she'd cleaned and bandaged the wound she'd received, courtesy of the Digimon Emperor, it still hadn't healed and wouldn't for another day or so, so long as she kept up with icing it down and re-banding the injury.

_'I'm just lucky no one noticed,'_ Kagome sighed, _'Though if I hadn't gotten Kari's promise, I'm sure she would've told Tai at least and I'm not about to worry him when he's got enough on his plate as it is, what with school and sports.'_

But there was one thing that was bothering her. She'd had another vision the night before and it was much more vivid and disturbing than all the others she'd seen. It seemed that the Digimon Emperor was even crueler than she thought. Not only was he enslaving Digimon with his Dark Rings, but he was making them fight each other to the point where one or both would end up being destroyed and neither would know what would happen until it was too late.

Kagome's fist clenched. _'Why does he find such joy in others' pain and torment?'_

"Hey," Matt greeted as he sat down beside the raven-haired girl.

"Morning," Kagome said with a small smile.

"So what happened yesterday?" Matt asked, getting straight to the point.

"Well, Yolei and Cody found their Digi-Eggs and partners," Kagome reported. "Let's see, Davis and Veemon were kidnapped by the Digimon Emperor in an attempt to destroy them so that they wouldn't get in his way. Oh, and Biyomon and Tentomon are all right."

"Don't forget that three more Digimon were freed from the Digimon Emperor's control," Kudamon added, his head popping out of Kagome's left sleeve, as her right arm was off limits due to her injury. "And we learned that eh Digimon Emperor, for some reason, doesn't come out at night as much as he does in the day."

"Kudamon?" Matt blinked. "What are you doing in Kagome's jacket?"

"Keeping an eye on her," Kudamon said as though it were obvious. "After the stunt she pulled, I'm not letting her out of my sight. And besides, wearing a scarf now would make her stand out like a sore thumb, so this was the next best option."

"Stunt?" Matt raised an eyebrow.

"It's nothing to worry about," Kagome shook her head, trying to dissuade the blonde. "Really!" _'Kudamon! That's it, no more white chocolate for you!'_

"Then why don't I find myself believing you?" Cerulean eyes narrowed. He remembered when he was walking in after Kagome that she seemed to be favoring her right arm a bit, making sure not to bump into anything or let anything touch it.

With a determined gaze, Matt took Kagome's right hand and lifted up the sleeves of her blazer and shirt just enough to catch sight of the bandage wrapped around her arm. And though he couldn't lift anymore of her sleeve up, he could definitely see that the bandage extended at least to her elbow.

"What happened?" Matt asked angrily, leaving no room for escape.

Kagome sighed and gave a light glare to her Digimon partner. "It looks like our dear Digimon Emperor carried a bullwhip with him. He was going to use it on Gatomon and I wasn't about to let that happen so—"

"You stepped in," Matt finished. He shook his head. "I know you care, Kagome, but sometimes I think you care too much and disregard yourself! Does Tai know about this?"

The raven-haired girl shook her head. "Only you, Sora, Izzy, Kari, and T.K know outside of the new DigiDestined. The Digimon know as well, since they were there, but other than that, no."

Kagome saw the furious look on Matt's face and spoke. "Look, it's not that big of a deal; I'll just need to take it easy for another day or two until the bruises and cuts are gone."

"I don't want you going back to the Digital World on your own," Matt told her. "Especially with that maniac on the loose."

"I won't be," Kagome assured him. "Kari, T.K, and the others will be there, too remember? Matt, there wasn't much you or anyone else could've done. You know that I would've gone to help anyone no matter what. It's who I am." _'It's sweet that he's worried, but he's taking it a little too hard…'_

Matt still didn't look convinced, but nodded nevertheless.

"I'll do my best to stay out of trouble," Kagome told him, "But I can't promise anything since anytime we're in the Digital World, we're _always_ in trouble and you know that. And please don't tell Tai about this…"

Although he still didn't look happy, Matt lowered her sleeves once more and nodded in assent.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

-Hamasaki Academy; After School-

"Something's going to happen today," Kagome muttered under her breath as she walked down to the computer lab to meet up with Kari and the rest of the new DigiDestined.

"Do you know what?" Kudamon asked.

"No, but it feels like something good…" Kagome answered. It was then that she saw Cody walking towards her from the opposite direction. "Cody? What are doing here? Shouldn't you have been down to Computer Lab already?"

"I was just finishing up my lunch," the young boy replied. "What about you?"

"I needed to pick up a few things," was all Kagome said.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

-Hamasaki Academy; Computer Lab-

When Kagome and Cody entered the Computer Lab, they found the rest of the group watching a news report on the rumored prodigy, Ken Ichijouji.

"I heard this kid is so smart," Cody spoke, up, startling the rest of the group, "that _he_ gave homework to his _teachers_ once."

"Cody! Kagome!" Yolei exclaimed. "When did you get here?!"

"Just now," the young boy answered,

"Do you think he knows how to defeat the Digimon Emperor?" T.K asked.

"I know way more about the Digital World than that stupid kid!" Yolei harrumphed.

_'I'm sensing a little jealousy here…'_ Kagome sweat-dropped.

"If you say so, but you can't deny he's a genius," Davis pointed out.

"Kari?" Gatomon stepped up. "We're ready to go back now."

"All present and accounted for!" T.K nodded.

"Then let's go!" Yolei all but shouted.

And with that said, the group held their Digivices to the computer screen where the Digital Gate was open for them. In no time, the bluish light engulfed them, pulling them into the computer and through to the Digital World.

* * *

-Digital World-

"You guys are back to normal," Cody blinked at the sight of the formerly In-Training Digimon that were now back to their Rookie forms.

"Yep," Armadillomon nodded. "We change back when we come back to the Digital World."

Suddenly the new DigiDestined's digivices began beeping as glowing dots appeared on the screens.

"What the—What's going on?" Davis asked.

"It looks like another Digi-Egg," Cody answered. "And it's not too far from here."

"But who are they for?" Davis asked. "We already got ours."

"We'll never know unless we go," Kari pointed out.

"Anything for you, Kari!" the maroon-haired boy said determinedly.

Kagome and the others only sweat-dropped.

"Let's get going," Kagome sighed, walking in the direction she felt the strange aura from.

"Hey, wait for me!" Davis called out to them.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

The group had been waling for a few minutes now, and the beeping only became louder and more frequent.

"It looks like we're close," Davis said. He looked down at the screen of his Digivice. "It's just up ahead. And there's something else?"

"Something else?" Yolei asked. "Where is it?"

"It's close," the maroon-haired boy said. "I can't really tell."

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" The Digimon Emperor roared at them, appearing before the group.

"You again!" Davis charged at the spiky-haired boy, only to fall through the image.

"It's an illusion!" T.K observed. "He's not really there?"

"What are you doing sneaking around into the Digital World?!" The Digimon Emperor asked. "What do you think this is: the movie theater?!"

"What's he talking about?" Cody asked, Kagome just placed a hand on his shoulder to shush him.

"We both know that ordinary children aren't allowed in the Digital World," The Digimon Emperor said, "Only the DigiDestined are!"

"We are the DigiDestined, you doofus!" Davis retorted.

"That's physically impossible!" The spiky-haired boy denied.

"And why can't we be?" Kari asked.

"It's simple," the Digimon Emperor replied, "Based on the laws of physics, I've determined that only perfect human beings can be the DigiDestined. And of course, I am the only perfect being."

"And who says that you are perfect?" Kagome stepped up before the group. "Who says that anyone can be perfect? There is no such thing; everyone is destined to make mistakes and from those we learn to better ourselves as adults. No one is or can be perfect; whatever you believe to be perfect isn't perfect at all! You are flawed! We have just as much right as any other person to be here! If there is one person that shouldn't be allowed here, it's you!"

"Is this normal for your sister?" Cody whispered to Kari.

"Only when she's annoyed," the light-brown-haired girl replied. "But when she gets angry, that's when you have to watch out…" She looked at the expression on her sister's face and winced. "He must've made her _really_ angry…Then again, I'm pretty ticked, too. The Digital isn't just for him and technically Kagome's right; every word she's saying is absolutely correct."

Meanwhile, Yolei was gawking with stars in her eyes as the older girl told off the Digimon Emperor. "She's so cool…"

T.K just sweat-dropped as he chuckled nervously.

The Digimon Emperor growled. "Listen to me, you insolent girl, the Digital World belongs to me! As intruders, you are hereby banished from the premises!"

"You don't own the Digital World and you never will," Kagome said coldly, making the group shiver at her tone. "The Digital World always had and always will belong to the Digimon. You are trespassing by taking control of them! You're just a spoiled little child that doesn't know what's wrong from right!"

"Remind me never to get on her bad side," Davis muttered while the rest of the group nodded.

The image of the Digimon Emperor said nothing as it fizzled out.

It was then that a violent tremor rocked the earth. The group looked up to find the Digimon Emperor himself riding in on the scene on the shoulder of a Tyrannomon with a Dark Ring around his neck.

"I've warned you once," the spiky-haired boy, "Now I won't be so lenient. Tyrannomon!"

**"He's one of the most powerful Digimon. His blaze blast attack incinerates him enemies," **the Digimon Emperor told them, chuckling darkly.

"Blaze Blast!" The giant red dinosaur shot a stream of fire at the children and Digimon, but missed when they ran.

"Are you ready, Davis?" Veemon asked.

"You got it!" the maroon-haired boy nodded. "Digi-Armour Energize!"

"Veemon Armour-Digivolve to: Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

"See," the Digimon Emperor said haughtily, "This is why I'm a genius and you're not. You keep coming at me with the same attacks, and yet I unveil something new each time."

"I've had enough of your babbling!" Davis growled. "Let's just get down to it!"

"As you wish," the spiky-haired boy smirked.

Tyrannomon charged at Flamedramon and thrust his claws at him, sending the Armour Digimon flying. But Flamedramon recovered quickly and leapt back into the air after bouncing off a tree.

"Flame Fist!" Flamedramon shot a few fireballs at the red dinosaur Digimon, but the attack was cancelled out by its tail.

"He blocked it!" Davis clenched his fist as the Digimon Emperor chuckled.

"Now, Yolei?" hawkmon asked.

Yolei nodded. "Digi-Armour Energize!"

"Hawkmon Armour-Digivolve to: Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"

"Eagle Eye!" Halsemon shot two red beams of light from his eyes at the Tyrannomon as he flew, Yolei on his back.

"Do you really think you can just beat me with an addition?" The Digimon Emperor growled. "Let's see how you like multiplication!" He whistled and cracked his whip once, smirking all the while.

Immediately, the group found themselves surrounded by at least four more Tyrannomon with the addition of the one that had already been there.

"Impossible!" Davis exclaimed. _'How could he call so many Digimon in so little time?'_

Kagome's fists clenched. _'I can't believe he has so many Digimon under his control!'_

"As I always say," the Digimon Emperor chuckled, "The more the merrier!"

"They're five of them now!" Yolei said worriedly.

"Ready when you are, Cody!" the yellow Digimon nodded.

"Digi-Armour Energize!" Cody shouted.

"Armadillomon Armour-Digivolve to: Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"

"Why not let us Digivolve so we can fight?" Gatomon glared at the self-proclaimed Digimon Emperor.

"Yeah!" Patatmon agreed. "What're you so afraid of?"

"I think you only want this world because you nothing else left for you, right?" Kudamon goaded, a little out of character. Kagome blinked and looked at her Digimon, not knowing when he'd detached himself from her. "Then Kagome was right, you _are_ just a spoiled brat!"

_'Does he have a death wish?'_ Kari thought anxiously.

_'Me and my big mouth…'_ Kagome shook her head.

"As long as I have this Dark Digivice, you'll never be able to Digivolve," the Digimon Emperor said in response, ignoring the fox-like Digimon's comment, though his fist clenched. "And since you three are just about useless, I might as well destroy you first!"

"Leave them alone!" T.K shouted.

At once the Tyrannomon began attacking the trio of Rookie Digimon, one after another.

"Weren't cats always supposed to land on their feet?" Patamon commented, when they were knocked back into a tree, trying to lighten the mood a bit despite the situation at hand.

"Oh shut up," Gatomon glared at the winged Digimon.

"I don't think this is the time!" Kudamon pointed out. "RUN!"

The trio fled as fast as they could, but they weren't able to outrun the much larger Digimon after them. And just when they thought they wouldn't be able to survive this encounter, a cloud of dust erupted before them.

"Hello, boys!" Digmon greeted when the cloud cleared away. "Looks like you have some cavities that need fillin'!"

It was then that Kagome felt a pulse, like something was calling. She looked in a direction west of where they were all situated. _'Could it be the Digi-Egg?'_

"We'e outnumbered!" Yoeli exclaimed. "There's no way we can beat them all like this!"

"We need to find the other Digi-Eggs!" Cody told them. "It just might be the only way!"

"But we don't even know who they belong to!" Davis pointed out.

"Then we just need to go and search for them!" Kagome spoke. "T.K, Kari; the two of you follow me. Davis, Cody, Yoeli; hold off this nutcase for as long as you can, but if you have to retreat, then do it! Don't just keep on fighting, do you understand?"

"Yeah," Davis answered. "But how are you going to find the Digi-Egg? The signal only appears on our Digivices!"

"Just trust me," Kagome replied, smiling gently, "I know what I'm doing." She turned to her sister and the young blonde. "Come on!" She turned to the Digimon. "Gatomon, Patamon, Kudamon, let's go!"

"Right!" the group said as they were off.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Quick, into the thicket!" Kagome ordered.

The two preteens and their Digimon joined the older girl into a heavily forested area, where not even the sky was visible.

"Are you sure this is safe?" T.K asked. "Maybe we should've stayed on the path!"

Kagome shook her head as they kept running. "That wouldn't have worked. The brat would have seen us from atop Tyrannomon and tried to attack if he spotted us. This way we'll be able to go away undetected for the most part."

"How close are we Kagome?" Kari asked.

"Very," the raven-haired girl answered, feeling he pulse running through her body grow stronger and more frequent.

It was when they were nearly at the edge of the forest did Kagome come to a stop. "What's wrong?" Patamon asked.

"The Digi-Eggs are in there," Kagome pointed to a cave that was a few metres beyond the border of the forest situated at the bottom of a large cliff.

"How are going to get in without being seen?" Gatomon asked, taking a peek through some bushes to see explosions and clouds of dirt flying, indicating that the battle was still in progress.

"We'll need to run," Kagome told them, "As fast we can because as far as I can see, there isn't another way in."

"We'd better dross our fingers, then," Kari said, doing just that.

"On the count of three," Kagome nodded.

"One…"

"…Two…"

…Three! Go!"

And with that the trio and their Digimon ran off across the clearing. Unfortunately, as suspected, they didn't get away undetected. Almost as soon as they took their first steps out of the dense flora, the Tyrannomon began running at them.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" the Digimon Emperor cackled as his Tyrannomon ran faster after the trio.

Fortunately for them, though, they'd reached the safety of the cave they'd been heading for before the giant, red dinosaur Digimon could catch them.

The Digimon Emperor gritted his teeth as his prey slipped away somewhere he wouldn't be able to get them with his Digimon. "Let's go back, there's nothing over here but a couple of sniveling cowards!"

"That was close," Gatomon panted.

"You can say that again," Kudamon nodded, from his place atop Kagome's shoulder once more.

"They're right over there," Kagome pointed up a small staircase. "The Digi-Eggs, are just up that staircase."

"Why is it always stairs?" T.K asked.

"Actually, Davis's Digi-Egg wasn't up a flight of stairs," Kari pointed out. "Only Cody and Yolei's were."

"Still…" T.K trailed off. "But who are these new eggs for? We can't just sit around and wait for some new kids to get them!"

"But there aren't any," Kagome reminded him. "Only three Digivices came out of the computer and only three children received them."

Kudamon floated off of his partner's shoulders and flew over to the three Digi-Eggs situated on a stone platform. "Correct me if I'm wrong," he blinked, "But aren't these your Crests?"

The human trio walked over to the three Digi-Eggs to inspect them.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

One Digi-Egg was gold with a small tuft of blonde hair on the top with two tiny wings like Patamon's sticking up out of it. Etched on the front was the Crest of Hope.

Another Digi-Egg was looked like silver wings draped around a miniature figure with two small feet poking out of the bottom and a small glimpse of a head from the top. Painted on the front was the Crest of Light.

The final Digi-Egg was white with what seemed like a white cloak over it and a pointed hat attached to the top. On the front was a large light-blue snowflake with the Crest of Compassion engraved in it.

(AN: Once again, the pictures of Kagome are up on my DeviantArt page! Check 'em out if you want a visual to go with the description!)

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"You're right," Kagome looked at the eggs curiously as they walked closer to the platform. _'What this why I felt like I was being called here? To find the egg with my Crest?'_

Suddenly, the trio stopped when they saw three different coloured bright glows, one coming from each of their Digivices.

"What's going on with our Digivices?" T.K asked as they all took them out to see.

Immediately before their eyes, the old Digivices they had morphed slowly into the model Davis, Yoeli and Cody had, and like the new trio, this trio also had different coloured accents. T.K's had greens accents, Kari's were pink, but Kagome's was pure white.

"These are the same Digivices the new kids have," T.K commented.

"But why?" Kagome asked quietly, looking down at the new device.

"It's light," they heard Kari say and looked over to see that she'd lifted the Digi-Egg with her crest with no problem.

Kagome and T.K immediately went to pick their own eggs up and found it surprising that they weren't difficult to lift, either. "Wow," the young blonde blinked, "I'm stronger than I thought."

It was then that, like with the other Digi-Eggs, three geysers of sparks and light shot out from where the eggs had once sat. The two Rookie and one Champion suddenly found themselves being filled with energy.

* * *

"Patamon Armour-Digivolve to: Pegasusmon, the Soaring Hope!"

Pegasusmon, was literally a large horse with Patamon's colouring (copper and a white underbelly) with large gold wings, a pale-blonde mane and thin tail, gold armour around its upper torso and legs from the knee down, a gold mask around its head with a miniature version of Patamon's wings sticking up out of the mask.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Gatomon Armour-Digivolve to: Nefertimon, the Angel of Light!"

Nefertimon had a large white-furred mature feline body with a longer version of Gatomon's tail. She had silver and gold armour covering her upper torso area and just above her enlarged versions of Gatomon's stripe-claw gloves, her head resembled a more feminine version of the Egyptian Sphinx, and two large white wings sprouted from her back.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Kudamon Armour-Digivolve to: Sorcermon, the Mage of Compassion!"

Sorcermon had a tall and subtly muscled figure with pale skin and bright amber eyes. He wore a tight white high-collared top with long flowing sleeves that just went past his wrists and silver zipper patterns straying across the fabric; the sleeves were clasped to his wrists with a pair of silver-blue metal bands about three-inches in width that led out into a pair of purple gloves. He wore a pair of purple breeches tucked into a pair of silvery-blue armoured boots with a one-inch heel, a couple leather and studded belts were slung over his waist, some even just strewn over to touch the ground or shorter than that.

Clasped around his neck with large silver rose broach was a white cloak that wrapped a few times around his neck to the point where his mouth wasn't visible with tattered ends that floated straight to the ground; it had lavender etchings on the back while the inside was violet with white etchings. He had long blonde hair falling down to his knees pulled back in a loose braid and atop his head was a large white pointed hat with a black band just above the rim. Hanging from one pointed ear was a single gold earring while hanging from the other were two silver bands and one piercing at the top. And sprouting from the back of his pants was a long fox tail the same shade as his hair. In his hands was a long black staff topped with an icy-blue snowflake with the Crest of Compassion engraved within it.

(AN: Sorcermon probably wasn't the foreseen choice for an Armour Digimon, especially for Kudamon, but I had to go the Digimon Wiki and go through who knows how many pages and then backtrack through other pages before I found a few candidates, but ultimately, Sorcermon was the choice I had to go with. I know that this really isn't how Sorcermon looks, but I just wanted to give him a new look for the sake for this story. That doesn't mean that I didn't like the original way he was designed! I have a sketch of his design lying around somewhere, though I just need to find it…but when I do, it'll be up on my DeviantArt, so keep an eye out!)

* * *

"They Armour Digivolved!" T.K said excitedly as the three humans went up to their partner Digimon.

"You're beautiful, Nefertimon," Kari said, petting the sphinx-like Digimon. "But the best part is that now that you can fly, we don't have to walk anymore!"

"Well, don't get too excited, these wings aren't broken in yet," Nefterimon joked in a voice a silght octave deeper than Angewomon's.

"T.K!" Pegasusmon said happily.

"All right!" the young blonde hugged his partner. "My own Armour Digimon!"

Kagome blinked up at her Digimon that now stood a head taller than her. "Well, of all the things for you to turn into, I didn't except it to almost human," she commented. "Then again, I never expected to get a new Digivice or a Digi-Egg, either. You don't look bad, actually; you look pretty cute. And if I were any other girl I would've started fawning over you by now, but we know better, don't we?"

Sorcermon chuckled. "Thank you, Milady. I'm just glad I can protect you know like I was meant to."

"It looks like our adventure was never really over, was it?" Kagome whispered, watching her sister and the young blonde fawn over their Digimon.

"Never," Srocermon whispered back, pulling up the collar of his colak to show Kagome something that nearly brought her to tears. There tied around his neck in a simple knot was a scarf that resembled the same bow Kagome had left with Kudamon all those years ago.

Kagome gasped as another vision flashed through her mind. She watched as the Digimon Emperor backed Davis, Cody and Yolei to the edge of a cliff, their Digimon completely tuckered out from fighting and back to their Rookie forms. But as quickly as the image came, it left just as fast.

The raven-haired girl noticed that the sun was nearing the time till sunset in the vision and checked the time on her Digivice to see that they didn't have much time.

"What's wrong, Kagome?" Kari asked, noticing her sister's expression.

"It was another vision, wasn't it?" Sorcermon asked.

Kagome nodded. "Davis, Yolei, and Cody aren't going to last much longer," she reported. "We have to get there as fast as we can!"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"There they are!" Kagome shouted from Sorcremon's arms as they flew through the air, T.K on Pegasusmon, and Kari on Nefertimon. She pointed at the cluster of Tyrannomon backing three small figures towards the edge.

"Davis!" T.K shouted, getting the small group's attention as well as that of the Digimon Emperor.

"Are they who I think they are?" Cody blinked in surprise.

"Kagome! Kari! T.K!" Yolei shouted with relief.

Veemon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon watched in awe as the three new Armor Digimon landed, letting their partners off.

**"That's Pegasusmon,"** Armadillomon told them, **"He's one wild horse! When he attacks with his Star Shower, his enemy'll be blasted into outer space!"**

**"That's Nefertimon!"** Veemon reported. **"She's a flying, fighting machine with nine lives. And she's quite a shot with those Rosetta Stones of hers!"**

**"And that would be Sorcermon,"** Hawkmon informed. **"He is a Digimon that specializes in magic. His Crystal Barrage can take down any opponent before they can say 'blizzard'!"**

"Don't think Armour Digivolving will save you," the Digimon Emperor said as he leapt off the Tyrannomon with a grunt. "It's only a matter of time before I come up with a way to overcome that as well!"

"Blaze Blast!" All the Tyrannomon shot at the three Armour Digimon with their fiery attacks, but missed when they flew up into the air to avoid the hit.

Nefertimon's silver and gold braces glowed as did the front two armoured braces on Pegasusmon's legs. "Golden Noose!" The two winged Digimon crisscrossed over each other to create a long golden thread to trap the Tyrannomon.

The snowflake atop Srocermon's staff glowed a bright blue. "Ice Illusion!" He spun the staff a few times and let his magic merge with the Golden Noose, solidifying and tightening it to the point where not a single Tyrannomon had room to even wiggle.

"Queen's Paw!"

"Wild Mane!"

"Crystal Barrage!"

The three attacks converged upon the Tyrannomon with a loud 'bang'. The Tyrannomon fell to the ground, the binding around them now broken; once they'd hit the ground, their Dark Rings shattered, leaving the giant Digimon now conscious and free from the control of the Digimon Emperor.

Almost immediately, the three Armour Digimon reverted back to their Rookie forms, or in Gatomon's case, her Champion form. Kagome and Kari, though, ran up to check up on the now dazed Tyrannomon.

"Their Dark Rings disappeared!" Yolei said surprisedly.

"I just can't believe Kudamon, Gatomon, and Patamon were able to Armour Digivolve," Cody said with wide eyes.

"But we got three new teammates out of it, didn't we?" Davis winked. "Okay so they're not really new, but they're new to this team!"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"I'm going to take a picture of this for my Digital Scrapbook," Kari said, taking out her camera to snap a photo of the Tyrannomon walking off into the sunset.

"How much longer do you think we'll have to do this before that Digimon Emperor's gone for good?" Yolei asked.

"As long as it takes," Kagome answered. "I know you don't like fighting much, but remember that every time you do, you're saving another life."

"I just want to take that guy and sock him in the face!" Davis growled.

* * *

-Hamasaki Academy; Computer Lab-

"These pictures turned out great, but the Tyrannomon look like they have red-eye…" Kari said as she browsed through the photos she'd taken.

"Then we'll just have to edit them out," Kagome told her sister, watching her click through the images. "I'll show you how when we get home; there's a picture-editing software on Papa's computer. He let's me use it whenever I have a project or something." It was then that one picture in particular caught her eye. "When did you take that?"

"While we were flying over to Davis and the others," Kari giggled at the bland look her sister threw at her. "I couldn't resist!"

The photo in question was of Kagome being held bridal-style in Sorcermon's arms as they flew through the air, the tint of the sky in the background making the scene look a little more dramatic. But despite that, Kagome grudgingly admitted that it was a good photo, bypassing her momentary embarrassment.

"I can't wait to get my hands on that Digimon Emperor…" Davis snickered darkly as he plotted all the nasty things he would do the person that caused them so much trouble.

"You'll defeat the Emperor, won't you, T.K?" Kari turned to her blonde friend.

The group and Digimon stifled their laughs when Davis balked at the girl he liked.

"I don't know, Kari, but we'll have to give it our best shot," T.K said. "The problem is that we've never faced an enemy like him before! How do we defeat someone that's human?"

"T.K brings up an interesting point we should all consider," Cody spoke up.

"OH yeah?" Davis scoffed. "And what's that?"

"This is quite the little army we've put together so far," the young boy explained. "We've found our Digimon and they can all Armour-Digivolve. Even Patamon, Gatomon, and Kudamon have found a way to bypass the Emperor's Dark Digivice. But even with all our power combined, we still don't have the power to defeat the Digimon Emperor in the _Digital World_, and yet we still keep forgetting the fact that he's _human_."

"We know that," T.K nodded, "But I still don't get your point…"

"We just need to fight differently when it comes to him," Kari clarified.

"And how do you suppose we do _that_?" Yolei asked.

"If we can find out who his human identity is," Cody suggested, "then we can try and take him down from this side, where his powers aren't all that strong."

"And how do we do that?" Davis asked. "Knock on every door asking who the Digimon Emperor is? Hello Happy House!"

"You're a little young to be worrying about those things, Cody," Yolei told the younger boy gently.

"Yeah," Davis nodded. "Just leave this to the older kids!"

"I wouldn't disregard Cody's words so much, if I were you," Kagome warned them. "It was brave of him to speak up and he brings up a good strong point. And besides, sometimes the wisest of words come from the most unexpected of places." She turned to Yolei. "You say that he's too young to be worried about matters like this, right?"

The lavender-haired girl nodded, not understanding what the girl was getting at.

"He is already involved just by being one of the DigiDestined," Kagome pointed out. "It's only natural that he worry about the same things as we are."

"But—" Yolei trid breaking in, but was cut off when Kagome held her hand up for silence.

"When I first when to the Digital World, T.K and Kari were the youngest of us all," the raven-haired girl explained. "They were never sheltered from the dangers we ran into and were involved through it all because it was our destiny and there was no other option. Cody's age shouldn't be factor of whether or not he should worry about or if he should be involved with something. He is one of the DigiDestined and as such, you'll need to learn and take his opinions seriously. Do you understand?"

The lavender-haired girl nodded, albeit reluctantly.

Here she turned to Davis. "This goes for you as well," Kagome said. "Don't disregard Cody's suggestions or words. Think them over and you'll understand how they'll make sense. Here age isn't a factor of whether or not he should do something. As I said, he is one of the DigiDestined and that should be reason enough for you to listen."

"Cody is right when he says that we should looks for the human identity of that brat," she ignored the snickers coming at her title for the Digimon Emepror. "He has more power in the Digital World then he does here. He doesn't looks much older than you all so he probably has a family, hence the reason why he isn't in the Digital World at night; he needs to be home so his family won't get suspicious of what he's doing or what's going on. For now, all we can do is observe and use those observations to narrow down the identity of the Digimon Emperor."

* * *

-Kamiya Residence; That Night-

"So anything interesting happen today?" Tai asked his sisters as they walked back to their room after dinner.

Kari and Kagaome looked at each other before pulling out their new Digivices to show Tai, who gawked at the changed devices.

"What the—But—How?" Tai sputtered.

Kagome shrugged. "We wouldn't know," she told him, "all we did was find our Digi-Eggs and then the next thing we know our Digivices changed and our Digimon Digivolved."

"Oh and T.K has one, too," Kari added.

"Things just got a little more interesting, haven't they?" Tai chuckled, shaking his head. He looked at his sisters seriously. "I won't be there this time to help or protect you. I know you can hold your own, but I still want you guys to look after each other and stay safe, okay?"

"Okay," the girls chorused. They understood that no matter how old they got, their older brother would always be just that, their older brother and constantly worried about them, at that.

"And make sure you look after them," Tai ordered Gatomon and Kudamon.

"You know we will," Gatomon told him as Kudamon nodded.

"We will protect them with our lives," the fox-like Digimon vowed.

Tai nodded with a smile and turned back to his sisters. "So how do Gatomon, Patatmon, and Kudamon look when they Armour-Digivolve?"

Kari took her camera and began flipping through the pictures until she came across the ones she wanted. "Here's Nerfertimon, Gatomon's Armour-Digivolved form; and Pegasusmon, Patamon's Armour-Digivolved form. And next over there is Sorcermon, Kudamon's Armour-Digivolved form."

"Cool," Tai commented. "It looks like you have a new adventure ahead of you…"

* * *

_Aguro a tutti un Buon Natale e Felice Anno Nuovo!_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	19. Book Two: The Control Spire

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!**

AN: This'll probably sound a bit choppy, but I'm sick and I'm a little out of it…So please forgive me wif there are any errors of any sort!

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-The Control Spire-Xx**

-Digital World-

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon's fireball hit the bars to the Gotsumon's prison, breaking them apart, just a bit.

"Vee-Headbutt!" Veemon finished what Agumon had started and busted into the small stone cell. "C'mon, let's get goin'!" He pushed the two startled Gotsumon in the cell out.

Once the two were out, the DigiDestined and their partners, including Tai, as well as the rest of the Gotsumon they'd managed to free fled from the stone coliseum they presumed was built by the self-proclaimed Digimon Emperor.

"That was easy enough," Davis panted when they all stopped int eh middle of the forest a little bit away from the coliseum.

"You're officially fugitives," Agumon informed cheerily.

"I don't think that would normally be a good thing," Kagome sweat-dropped. "But in this case, I suppose it could be an exception."

"If that's the puny defense the Digimon Emperor's gonna put up," Davis boasted, "Then this fight'll be over before the first round!"

"I don't think that's the case," T.K spoke up. "It seemed a little too easy and that's what worries me."

"What does?" Patamon asked from atop T.K's head.

"He means the fact that there wasn't any resistance," Kari clarified. "And I definitely have to agree. There's something wrong here…"

"Then we'll have be extra careful," Tai nodded. "But for now, let's get going. I'm so hungry that I think I'm starting to smell the cafeteria food all the way from here!"

"Actually," Davis said sheepishly, "That's the peanut butter and jellybean sandwich I've had in pocket since last week!"

The group, bar Gatomon, Kagome and Kudamon, wrinkled their noses. "EWW!"

_'What could that tower be?'_ Gatomon thought as she looked at the giant black spike a little bit away from them.

Kagome looked at the tower with narrowed eyes. _'That thing's giving off a major negative vibe…And I'm getting a really bad feeling about it…'_

"Kagome?" Kudamon whispered. "Is everything all right?"

"The tower," Kagome glanced at the large spike. "Do you feeling something…off about it?"

Kudamon looked to the giant spike and stared for a moment. "I don't know what it could be that you're feeling, but it certainly doesn't make me feel very comfortable."

It was then that Gatomon looked up to see Kagome and Kudamon staring at the black tower. Both human and Digimon have a nod to the feline Digimon to show that they felt something was off as well.

* * *

-Hamasaki Academy; After School; Archery Range-

_'Something doesn't feel right,'_ Kagome thought as she pulled back another arrow and let go for it to join the last four that were clustered in the centre of the target. _'But what could it be?'_

Kudamon watched his partner in awe, curled up on the ground. _'She's changed since the last time I saw her…and she certainly become very impressive.'_

The raven-haired girl was the last person left on the archery range, the rest of the club members having left a little while ago. She hadn't bothered to change out of her school uniform and was shooting in it, rather than the official club uniform she should have been wearing. She walked up to the target and gathered the arrows before heading back to put the equipment she used in their proper places.

Suddenly, Kagome fell to her knees as a cry of pain was wrenched from her mouth.

"Kagome!" Kudamon zipped over to his partner and did his best to comfort the girl. "Kagome, what's the matter? Please, tell me!"

Unfortunately, the girl was unresponsive to her Digimon's pleas. Her eyes were closed as her hands clutched her head to stop the sudden pain.

_'Could this be another vision?' Kudamon wondered. 'But why is she in so much pain? Every other vision she's had never caused her any pain, she was probably a little dazed, but never was she in any pain…'_

Another pained cry came from Kagome's lips as she watched Gabumon get hurt by a RedVeggiemon and thrown into a river, only to collapse onto a shore, unconscious.

And for a short moment, Kagome saw black.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"…gome! …Kago…KAGOME!" a voice shouted.

The raven-haired girl moaned softly as she saw two pairs of cerulean eyes hovering above her. "T.K? Matt? What happened? What are you doing here?" She asked softly.

"We came because we got an urgent message from Yolei," T.K explained as he and his brother helped the raven-haired girl sit up. "Kudamon brought us here to help and we just saw you lying there on the ground, unconscious."

"Care to explain?" Matt asked.

Kagome looked at the siblings blankly for a moment before she recalled the last thing that had happened before she'd awoken and remembered the vision of Gabumon. Tears filled the icy-blue orbs, startling the blonde-haired siblings.

"Kagome?" T.K placed a hand on her shoulder. "Was it another vision?"

"It's Gabumon!" Kagome choked out, not hearing Matt's gasp. "He's hurt! Or I think he's going to be! Gabumon was captured by the Digimon Emperor, but when he was escaping he was caught and beaten until he was thrown into a river. By the time he washed up on shore, he was too weak and he collapsed!"

Kudamon wrapped himself around his partner's neck and nuzzled her cheek as he purred, trying to calm the girl. "Do you know why you were in pain?" he asked softly. As much as he didn't want to bring up the subject, it had to be done.

"I think it may have been because Gabumon was getting hurt," Kagome sniffled, using the handkerchief Matt offered to dry her tears. "Every other vision I've had only showed me certain things and they never included pain like that!"

Matt and T.K looked at each other in worry before nodding. The siblings each took a hold of Kagome's hands and pulled her up, comforting her with Kudamon's help to the best of their ability.

By the time they'd reached the Computer Lab, the raven-haired girl's tears had dried, but her eyes were a little red and puffy from the crying she'd done.

"Come on, Yolei!" the trio heard Davis snap. "Can't you go any faster?!"

"I'm doing to best I can!" the lavender-haired girl retorted as she typed away on the open terminal.

"Hey, is everything, okay?" Kari as worriedly, when she saw her sister.

Kagome just nodded at her sister, giving a small smile the ease the younger girl's worried. "I'll tell you what happened when we get home, alright?"

Kari looked at her sister for a moment, but nodded nevertheless.

"Done!" Yolei hit one last key on the keyboard before standing up from the chair before the terminal. "Shall we?"

That said, the group stood before the computer with their Digivices out, the familiar bluish light flashing out around them and pulling them into the Digital World.

* * *

-Digital World-

"This is the place," Kagome whispered, "Gabumon…" she and the rest who'd come looked at the blue and white-striped Digimon who laid there on the riverbank, unconscious.

"Gabumon!" Matt ran over to his partner and began rubbing his hand on the Digimon's face gently. "Come on, Gabumon, wake up!"

It took a while, but eventually the horned Digimon opened his ruby eyes. "Matt…"

"Are you okay?" Matt helped his Digimon sit up.

"Let's just say that I won't look at steamed vegetables the same way," Gabumon said wryly.

"Please don't joke around about this!" Kagome pleaded to the Rookie Digimon, walking up to him.

"Kagome?" Gabumon said worriedly looking at the girl's tierd face. "What's wrong?"

"Let's just say that your situation took a toll on her," the elder blonde said briefly. "Now, I want you to tell me everything that happened."

"That would be nice," Gabumon nodded, "We don't talk much anymore…"

Kagome still looked worried, but walked away to give her friend and his partner some time to themselves to talk things out.

"Hey, everyone!" Yolei grinned through the monitor of the small television they'd phased through. "I'm going to go over to Izzy's and get my Digivice, but I'll meet up with you as soon as I can, 'kay?"

"Have no fear while Yolei's gone," Poromon chirped, flying before the screen, "This place shall be guarded by Poromon!"

Davis nodded. "Stay in touch!"

And with that the screen went dark.

"I wonder why they call those things on top 'rabbit ears'?" Gatomon wondered. "I don't see why they don't call them 'cat ears'; when was the last time anyone saw a rabbit napping on top of a TV?"

"This is what you think about?" Kari blinked at her Digimon, only to get a sheepish smile in return.

"Break time's over!" Patatmon called as Gabumon and Matt walked back to rejoin the group.

"So what's the situation?" Davis asked.

"Gabumon's going to take us somewhere first and then he'll explain," Matt told them. He looked down at his Digimon and gave a nod.

Gabumon nodded in return and rushed into the forest, the group and their Digimon right behind him.

Eventually, they stopped at the edge of the forest just atop a hill overlooking a large village of small stone houses and buildings, though Patamon flew ahead to scout out the area.

"It's a small village called Santa Caria," Gabumon explained. "This place was always very peaceful, at least until the Digimon Emperor showed up."

"Look!" Gatomon pointed to the dark pillar in the distance. "It's one of the weird towers again!"

"The Digimon Emperor calls them Control Spires," Gabumon reported, "He said that wherever one is placed, that area will be under his control and the Digimon there, his slaves."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Davis asked. "Let's go!"

"Wait!" Matt stopped the maroon-haired boy. "You can't go rushing in like that! For all you know, this could all be a trap and he'd be waiting there for us. We could be walking straight into an ambush!"

"No problem!" Davis waved off Matt's concerns. "All we need to do is Armour Digivolve and blow 'em apart!"

"It's not that simple!" T.K shook his head. "He has hostages, remember? He could use them as a shield, and we'd have no choice but to give in!"

"T.K's right," Kari nodded, "We need to try and rescue the hostages first before anyone gets hurt."

Davis just harrumphed as his idea was shot down.

"Davis," Kagome tried reasoning, "I know you're eager to this over with, but you need to remember that this isn't just a game. Lives are being ruined as we speak and until we can find out who the Digimon Emperor is, we can only help out the Digimon as much as we can."

"You need to watch out for the DigiSludge, too!" Patamon said from atop a tree branch. "The hostages are being guarded by Veggiemon!"

"Tell us everything you can, Patamon," Matt ordered, "about the Vegiemon and the situation at hand."

"Okay!" Patamon nodded and flew down to sit on top of Gabumon's head, holding his horn to keep steady. And with that, Patamon began telling everyone everything he knew about the Vegiemon and hostages.

Matt nodded. "Okay, I've got a plan, but we need to be careful to follow it or the results could be disastrous."

The group, bar Davis and Veemon, nodded and followed Matt and Gabumon as they walked off in the direction of the village.

"T.A!" Davis shouted. "Aren't you worried about Kari even a bit?!"

"T.A?" Kari giggled. "Looks like he forgot how to spell, T.K!"

The group burst into laughter as Davis only pouted and Veemon looked on in confusion.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Stop!" a Veggiemon shouted. "Who goes there!"

"We're with you," Gatomon said as she lifted her paw to show a black ring around her wrist. "We just captured these Digimon and their friends."

The Veggiemon looked at Gatomon, Veemon, Patamon, and Armadillomon (Kudamon was wrapped around Kagome's neck like a scarf) before taking a look at the six humans tied together with Gabumon in front.

"Where are you taking us?" T.K asked.

"Pire down!" Armadillomon snapped. "We're taking you just where you belong!"

"Now shut up and keep movin'!" Veemon added. "Move it! Move it! Move it!"

The Veggiemon only cackled as they watched the four Digimon escort the six humans and one Digimon to the holding area.

"Those guys didn't even notice these rings were plastic!" Patamon glanced behind them.

"Don't start feeling too frisky yet," Gatomon warned them quietly. "Those first set of guards were just flunkies; we haven't even faced the pick of the litter! Even if we get past them, we need to figure out a way to destroy the Control Spire!"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Thanks for bringing the prisoners in," a Veggimon said as he threw the tied up group into the cell with a few Gazimon, free of their bindings. "The Emperor'll be pleased, though we could do it—Wha?"

He and the other Veggiemon watched with gaping mouths as Gatomon and the rest of them stripped off the plastic rings before pouncing on the Veggiemon present.

Gatomon was swiping repeatedly at one Veggiemon while Veemon sat atop another and socked it a few times. Armadillomon sat atop two of the Veggiemon while Patamon knocked the last out with his Boom Bubble attack.

"Let's go!" T.K nodded.

And with that, the group ran out of the cell with the Gazimon, Patamon flying ahead to keep a watch out for any danger.

"Wait!" Patamon said quietly before the group rounded a corner. "There're more guards here!"

"That other exit's blocked, too!" Veemon added when he ran back to the group after checking out another corner.

Davi's clenched his fists. "I say we fight!"

"Easy there, Junior," Matt cautioned, placing a hand on Davis' shoulder. "You need to learn that although fighting's an option, it should only be used as a last resort. Storming in fighting could everyone here in jeopardy."

"Then let's go back the way we came," Gabumon suggested. "If we play our cards right, we'll come out on top near the Control Spire!"

"Good idea," Kagome nodded. "Let's go, before the Veggiemon spot us!"

And with that, the group ran in the direction Gabumon had indicated, not noticing that Davis and Veemon were a few feet behind the group.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

_'I'm thinking that Davis isn't used to playing things safely or rationally…'_ Kagome thought as the group walked up the winding path up the mountain towards the Control Spire.

She'd noticed how put out Davis looked when his ideas to fight kept being rejected, but it was something that he had to learn. Sometimes rushing in without a plan other than to fight won't work and could put everyone in danger.

The raven-haired girl winced as Matt and Davis yelled at one another.

"Who does he think he is?" Davis muttered, though not soft enough for no one to hear. "She's my sister and I'll call her what I want. That's what brothers are for, anyway…"

"Stop it!" Kari said sternly. "I can't stand anyone who talks bad about their brothers or sisters!"

"Kari…" Kagome pulled her sister along gently, whispering to calm the girl down.

Eventually they reached the top of the mountain where the Control Spire was situated, but the realized that there would be no way for them to get down as going back down the mountain and through the village was no option while the Veggiemon were still under the Digimon Emperor's control.

"So what do we do now?" T.K asked.

"We could look for some rope," Gabumon suggested, getting ready to do just that.

"Wait," one of the Gazimon came up to them. "You don't need any of that. We'll just hang onto each other and you can climb down our Bunny Slope; our way of saying thanks!"

"Let's do it!" Kari nodded.

"I'm afraid no one's goin' anywhere!" a voice shouted as Gabumon and a few of the Gazimon were knocked to the ground due to a small barrage of DigiSludge.

The group gasped as they saw a RedVeggiemon with a small bunch of Veggiemon behind him standing just a few feet away from them.

"Alright, Davis, it's time for action!" Veemon said determinedly. "I'm gonna take that overgrown vegetable and make him into tomato soup! I'll make vegetarians around the world proud! That should cheer you up!"

Vemon didn't wait for Davis' response as he ran off at the red Digimon. "Vee-Headbutt!"

Unfortunately, the small Digimon was batted away easily by RedVeggiemon's spiked arms.

"And now for a side dish: Chili Pepper Pummel!" The Red Veggiemon opened his mouth to spit out a small barrage of chili peppers at Veemon, throwing him back.

"Veemon, you have to—" Davis began before he was bound and lifted up by the Veggiemon's arms, the same happening to Cody.

"Stink Jet!" The Red Veggiemon opened his mouth to release a cloud f gas at the rest of the group and Digimon, causing them to cover their noses, lest they faint from the scent alone. Unfortunately for them, this left the Veggiemon a chance to bind the rest of the humans and Digimon.

The group just watched helplessly as Veemon continued to try and fight the red Digimon, to no avail.

"Leave him alone!" Davis shouted. "He's had enough!"

"I'm sure he's full!" The RedVeggiemon cackled. "But surely he's got room for dessert? And what a sweet surprise have I cooked up for him today!"

"If only I could Digivolve!" Gabumon clenched his jaw.

"There's got to be a way!" Matt looked on in horror as the small blue Digimon continued to get battered by the plant-like Digimon and eventually get thrown into the Control Spire, causing cracks to form in it. "Veemon doesn't stand a chance like this!"

"And now for the surprise," RedVeggiemon cackled. "I hope you're ready for a good big helping of Double Spiked Punch!"

"Veemon!" Davis shouted.

"Duck!" Matt called out.

"Now!" Gabumon added.

Veemon did as he was told and dodged the two spiked arms headed his way, only for them to be embedded in the Control Spire, causing more cracks to appear in it as electricity surged through the structure.

_'What in the—?'_ Kagome's eyes narrowed. _'I wonder…'_

"Gabumon Digivolve to: Garurumon!"

Matt and the others looked shocked at this development, but then again, they wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth; especially when they needed it.

"Howling Blaster!" Garurumon shot a blue stream from his mouth, chasing away the Veggiemon binding the children and their Digimon.

"Digi-Armour Energize!" Davis shouted after a moment's hesitation.

"Veemon Armour-Digivolve to: Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

"Boy, am I glad to see you!" Davis grinned when Flamedramon blocked RedVeggiemon's Chili Pepper Pummel with no problem.

Flamedramon said nothing as he sent RedVeggiemon flying with a well-placed punch.

"You want a piece of me?!" RedVeggiemon shot out his arms, the spiked ends aimed straight for the Armour Digimon.

The group watched as Flamedramon caught the spiked ends with a grin and started lifting and dropping his arms steadily, therefore slamming the RedVeggiemon into the ground repeatedly.

"That hurt," RedVeggiemon said monotonously, causing the group to sweat-drop from behind.

"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon sent a small cluster of fire darts at the plant-Digimon, setting briefly on fire.

"I've heard of grilled Vegetables before, but this is ridiculous!" RedVeggiemon shouted before he slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"Hey!" came a voice from the distance.

The group turned to see Tai, Izzy, and Yolei running up to them with with their Digimon by their side and the Gotsumon running after them.

"Garurumon?!" Tai exclaimed, looking at the Champion level Digimon with surprise.

"How did you Digivolve?" Agumon asked.

"I don't know, but it was a good thing I did!" Garurumon grinned.

"Actually, it just might've been when RedVeggiemon attacked the Control Spire," Kagome spoke up, her face pensieve.

Patamon nodded. "I saw sparks and stuff coming from it," he added.

"That's certainly going to need a lot of glue…" Hawkmon commented.

"We'd better get rid of this thing as soon as possible," Armadillomon told Cody. "And who better to do it, than Digmon!"

Cody nodded. "DigiArmour Energize!"

"Armadillomon Digivolve to: Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"

When his Digivolution sequence was complete, Digmon set to work by drilling into the Contol Spire until it collapsed onto the ground.

"Sorry," Digmon joked. "I forgot to say 'Timber!'…"

It was then that the Veggiemon and RedVeggiemon all began taking their Dark Rings off, not a single one of them remembering whatever they'd done.

"Of course," Yolei nodded, looking at the Control Spire to the Dark Rings and making the connection. "It all makes sense now."

"May I enquire as to what you are speaking of?" Hawkmon asked.

"The Control Spire," Yolei gestured to the now fallen structure. "It acted as an electricity rod. The Digimon Emperor built it to send out power to all the Dark Rings, making it possible for him to control all the Digimon throughout the area. Isn't that right, Izzy?"

Izzy nodded. "Very impressive theory you have there, Yolei."

"I wonder just how many more of those things are scattered throughout the Digital World…" Tai said.

"Well, whatever the number it looks like the new DigiDestined have quite the task ahead of them," Matt grinned at the group.

"Leave it all to us!" T.K gave his brother a thumbs up.

"Someone should take these Gotsumon back home now," Agumon piped up.

"I'll do it!" Gatomon volunteered.

"I'll lead the way!" Tai said, getting ready to run off with the Gotsumon.

"I'm right behind you, big brother!" Kari laughed as she, too ran behind the group.

"Aren't you going with them?" Cody asked Kagome.

The raven-haired girl shook her head. "I'll see them back at home. Besides, I have some explaining to do…"

"Garurumon will stay here to protect you from the Emperor," Matt told the Gazimon, who cheered in response.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Will you tell me now, why you were upset?" Garurumon asked when the rest of the group, bar Matt, had left.

Kagome sighed before slowly telling Garurumon about her vision, with Kudamon interjecting with details now and then. Matt soon picked up the story and told his partner now he and T.K had found Kagome unconscious and distraught when she woke.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that," Garurumon nuzzled the raven-haired girl gently. "But I'm glad you're all right."

Kagome just smiled gently and hugged Garurumon back as best as she could before walking a little bit away so Matt and his partner could say their goodbyes.

"Today was…eventful," Matt said awkwardly.

Garurumon just grinned. "I'm just glad we now know how to restore the Digital World to how it was."

But just as quickly as the grin came, it was gone. "Matt…"

"Hm?" Matt looked up to the large wolf-like Digimon. "What's up?"

"Look after Kagome," Garurumon said seriously.

"What?" the blonde blinked, thinking he'd heard wrong.

"Look after Kagome," Garurumon repeated. "I know it sounds strange, but just look after her as best as you can. The vision she had today was probably the worst she's ever had to face, let alone see. But I have a feeling that as long as the Digimon Emperor is around, her visions probably won't get much better and she might end up the way she did today."

"You do know that we're both really busy people, right?" Mat raised an eyebrow. "I only see Kagome in class during the day since I have band practice or a concert during some time after that."

"I'm not telling you to stay with her every second of the day," Garurumon looked on with soft eyes as Kagome and Kudamon played around with some of the Gazimon that were still there. "I'm just asking you to keep an eye on her when you can."

Matt looked on at the scene with a soft expression. "I will, but just so you know, I will be telling Tai and the rest of the gang about what happened with her today. If I'm not there, at least one of them would be."

_'You might not understand it just yet,'_ Garurumon looked at his partner, _'But I do. And I can only wonder when you both will see…'_

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


	20. Book Two: Time Off

I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!

* * *

Speech Key:

"The" – Oral/Normal Speech

_ 'The'_ – _Thoughts_

* * *

**PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!**

AN: This'll probably sound a bit choppy, but I'm sick and I'm a little out of it…So please forgive me if there are any errors of any sort!

Oh and there's going to be a little something with Kagome and Mimi towards the end and it probably won't make too much sense (it sounded waaaaaay easier in my head). Anyway, I'm trying to make it so that Mimi's personality is slightly altered to where she's not much of an airhead, though she seems to have mellowed some. Anywho, my brother gave me an idea and I decided to incorporate it in, and hopefully I did his suggestion justice.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!

* * *

**-The Ninth Child-**

**xX-Time Off-Xx**

-Hamasaki Academy-

Kagome sat quietly in class taking notes as her teacher spoke about Japan's Feudal Era to review for their next quiz.

After what had happened the other day with her visions about Gabumon, Matt had made sure to inform everyone, the new and old DigiDestined about what had happened so that if any of them were near, they could at least help her.

Tai wasn't too happy to find that his sister had been and would be in pain from the visions that had helped them, but knew there wasn't much that anyone could do but be there for the raven-haired girl.

_'I wonder, though,'_ Kagome thought as her pencil continued to move across her notebook paper, _'how on earth is that Digimon Emperor able to be in the Digital World without making anyone, least of all his family, suspicious of his absences? I just hope nothing bad happens today…I really need some rest…'_

Unfortunately, as if on cue, Kagome sat up straight, her pencil falling from her fingers, when she felt a violet jolt pass through her body.

Matt looked over at the raven-haired girl worriedly and watched as her eyes grew wide with shock before she fell to the floor, unconscious. "Kagome!"

"What's going on back there?" Mr. Jirou Matsumoto asked sternly.

"Kagome's collapsed!" Matt told the teacher, going down on the floor to rest the girl's head on his lap.

"What?!" Mr. Matsumoto looked alarmed as he rushed over to where the blonde and raven-haired teens were. He took Kagome's wrist and placed two fingers on it, feeling for a pulse.

"Her pulse is weak," Mr. Matsumoto frowned, "And she's out cold…" He looked at Matt. "Do you know what could have happened?"

Matt shook his head, not bothering to answer; he was too worried about Kagome's condition to do so.

"All right," Mr. Matsumoto nodded. "Matt, go on and take Kagome to the Infirmary, but don't dally around in there."

"Right," Matt said as he carefully picked Kagome up bridal-style and took her bag from another student that had packed up her things before going out the door.

_'It must've been another vision,'_ Matt thought as he looked down at the girl in his arms, his feet moving towards the Infirmary. _'But she's not crying out in pain like last time, why?'_

However, Matt it seemed had that thought a moment too soon because it was then that Kagome started twitching in his arms, whimpering in pain, giving an occasional cry now and then. "Me and my big mouth…" Matt muttered as he quickened his pace. _'How the heck am I supposed to explain this to the nurse?' _He glanced down at Kagome and frowned._ 'Hold on just a little longer, Kagome…'_

Luckily, by the time they'd reached the Infirmary, Kagome's cries and whimpers had died down and the girl was presently shivering in his arms, face flushed slightly.

"Oh my!" the nurse, Mrs. Akiyama, exclaimed. "What on earth happened?!"

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

The nurse was a kind-looking slightly plump woman. She had light-peach complexion, and light-auburn hair with strands of grey running through it, and a pair of bright hazel eyes.

She wore a standing white lab coat over a knee-length floral printed dress, a pair of nude stockings and practical black flats.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"She just collapsed in class," Matt explained quickly.

"Well set her down and I'll take a look at her," the nurse ordered, bustling over to her work station to gather a thermometer and whatever else she'd need.

Matt did as he was told and set Kagome down in the nearest empty bed there was before taking a seat in a chair beside it.

The blonde watched as the nurse pried open Kagome's mouth and stuck the thermometer under her tongue before taking her wrist in her hand and, as Mr. Matstumoto had done, took her pulse.

"Weak pulse," she muttered just as the thermometre beeped. She took out the device and glanced at the number before shaking her head. "High temperature," she looked down at Kagome's trembling and unconscious body, "signs of shock?"

"Just what has this girl been doing?" the nurse asked Matt.

"I don't know," Matt shook his head, trying not to let it show that he was lying through his teeth. "I think her brother mentioned something about her not getting enough sleep lately…"

"Well, that shouldn't have been enough to cause this!" Mrs. Akiyama shook her head. She fetched a bowl of cool water and a cloth. She dipped the cloth into the water and placed it over Kagome's forehead to reduce the raven-haired girl's temperature, even if a bit.

The blonde teen sat by his friend, watching worriedly as the nurse treated the girl. Only when Mrs. Akiyama left to her desk did he hear what Kagome seemed to be mumbling unconsciously.

"Gizamon…Gomamon…hurt…Emperor…" was all Matt could hear.

"Man oh man, this is bad," Matt shook his head. He glanced around to see if anyone was watching before taking out his D-Terminal and punching in a message to send over to Joe as it was his partner that Kagome had mentioned. _'Garurumon was right…But if these visions keep going on like this, what'll happen to Kagome?'_

"Here," Mrs. Akiyama came back with a small slip in her hand. "Give this to your teacher; it'll excuse her from class for today and tomorrow. Her parents will just need to call in if she's going to be out for any longer than that." She looked worriedly at the teen. _'And I have a feeling it'll end up being that way…'_

"Okay," Matt nodded, taking the slip and getting ready to go back to class.

"You mentioned she had a brother?" The nurse stopped the blonde.

"Yeah," Matt answered. "He's the same age as her, but in a different class."

"Name?" she asked.

"Tai Kamiya, and that's Kagome Kamiya," Matt answered.

"Thank you," Mrs. Akiyama nodded, going back to her desk. "You may return to class."

Matt only nodded before looking down at the unconscious girl and squeezed her hand before leaving the room altogether.

"Kagome…" Kudamon whispered, sticking his head out of his partner's sleeve just a bit, before retreating back before the nurse saw him.

Not even ten minutes later saw Tai Kamiya bursting into Infirmary. "Where is she? Is she okay? What's wrong with her? Can—"

"Young man, you calm down this instant!" The nurse scolded.

Tai went silent immediately.

"Now, your sister's got a bit of a fever and she seemed to have gone into shock, but that's passed by now," Mrs. Akiyama reported. "I've called you down to alert you of the situation and to tell you that your parents should be by to pick her up in a bit."

"Can't I go home with her, too?" Tai pleaded.

The nurse's eyes softened. "I normally wouldn't do this for any student, but I'll excuse you from class today to go home with your sister. In the meantime, why don't you get the work she'll be missing today."

Tai nodded and cast a glance at his sister before leaving to do as the elder woman ordered.

"It's rare to see that nowadays," Mrs. Akiyama whispered, "One sibling so protective of another to the point where he'd do anything to stay by their side." She looked down at Kagome. "You're a very lucky girl, my dear…"

* * *

-Kamiya Residence-

"Where am I?" Kagome said hoarsely, looking up at the pale-blue ceiling.

"Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty," a voice chuckled.

Kagome glanced in the direction of the voice and saw Tai sitting at the desk, books and notebooks open, indicating that he'd been doing his homework before he'd spoken. "Tai? What happened?"

"Here," he handed his sister a glass of water to clear her throat. "You collapsed in class and Matt brought you in to the Infirmary." The brown-haired teen adopted a serious look on his face. "You had another vision like the one with Gabumon the other day."

_'I did?'_ Kagome blinked as the images slowly came back to her. "I guess I did."

"The nurse said that you went into shock at first," Tai whispered angrily so their parents wouldn't hear. "Shock! Do you know how worried Mom and Dad were? Do you know how worried _I_ was? How worried _Kari'll_ be?"

"Enough," Kudamon spoke up, "Kagome never planned for this to happen! She must have Seen something that caused such a reaction!"

"What _did_ you see, anyway?" Tai asked, calming down slightly.

Kagome spoke quietly so as to avoid bursting into tears as she had the last time. "The Digimon Emperor, he was working the poor Gizamon so hard! Gomamon was only trying to help, but he got hurt when he did! The last thing I saw was the Gizamon attacking Gomamon and Gomamon padding his way through the snow…"

"That guy is really starting to get on my nerves!" Tai clenched his fists tightly.

"I'm home!" the siblings heard their younger sister from the hall before hearing a quick thudding, signaling that the young girl was now running, and towards them at that.

As if on cue, the door to the bedroom slammed open as Kari ran in, a frantic look on her face. "Oh no, what happened?" She ran over to sit by Kagome and looked to her siblings for an answer, Gatomon right beside her.

"Do you remember what Matt told us the other day?" Tai asked. "About Kagome's vision?"

Kari nodded slowly, not understanding at first. But soon, her eyes grew wide when she realized just what had happened. "It was another vision, then?" Kari said quietly.

Kagome nodded.

"What was it about?" the young girl asked hesitantly.

Tai told his sister of the vision, not wanting his sister to stress herself over what she'd seen. By the end, Kari was just about in tears.

"What happened today?" Tai asked.

And with that, Kari relayed the day's events of how Joe had come with them to the Digital World and how they'd destroyed one more Control Spire after a few bumps along the way.

Before anyone could respond, Kagome's mother came in with a tray of food. The fox-like Digimon quickly zipped under Kagome's covers to avoid being seen.

"Oh thank goodness you're awake!" Airi Kamiya placed the tray onto the now clean desk, Tai having rushed to put everything away when his mother came into the room. She sat on the bed and placed a hand on her daughter's forehead. "Your fever seems to have gone down a bit, but you still look a bit peaky…"

"I'm sorry for worrying you like this, Mama," Kagome smiled weakly.

"Don't you dare apologize," Airi chastised. "You're not at fault for getting sick, so you shouldn't blame yourself! Now, Papa and are going to sign you out of school for the rest of the week, okay? So you're going to be doing nothing but resting this week!"

"But—" Kagome tried protesting.

"No buts," Airi held up a finger to shush her daughter. "You are going to rest and that's final, do you understand? Tai's offered to bring your homework to and from school so you can keep up with your classes."

Kagome sighed and gave a nod. "Yes, Mama."

She helped the raven-haired girl sit up and put a smaller tray with a bowl of broth with some noodles in her lap while Tai and Kari each got a bowl of rice with some salmon and stir-fry Airi had cooked for dinner that night.

"Good," Airi left a small kiss on Kagome's forehead before going out the door.

The siblings ate in silence all the while giving some of their food to the two Digimon in their room.

"How long do you think it'll take to get rid of all the Control Spires?" Kagome asked, breaking the silence.

"It's a little hard to tell," Kari shook her head. "The map Izzy showed us that there was a lot of the Digital World covered in those Spires. Tackling them all one by one won't be easy, so we don't know how long it'll take to get rid of them all."

"And then there's the brat," Kagome spoke up, her voice no longer raspy, but sounding a bit sore.

"Brat?" Tai blinked at his sister while Kari, Gatomon, and Kudamon laughed.

"She means the Digimon Emperor," the fox-like Digimon clarified.

"You call that guy a brat?" Tai looked at his sister with wide eyes before bursting into laughter. "Oh that's priceless!"

"She even said that to his face," Gatomon added proudly.

"What'd he do?" Tai asked excitedly.

"Sent a bunch of Tyrannomon after us after saying that he was the only child that could possibly be one of the DigiDestined," Kari replied.

"Say what?" the brown-haired teen looked at his sisters in confusion.

"The Digimon Emperor thinks that only perfect beings can be the DigiDestined," Gatomon elaborated. "And he says that since he's the only perfect person, he's the only person that's allowed to be one of the DigiDestined."

"He does know that there's technically no such thing as perfection, right?" Tai asked.

"You want to try and explain that to him?" Kagome retorted. "Go ahead, then, be my guest. I already chewed him out once, but it probably didn't do much."

Before another word could be said, a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," Tai said loudly.

The trio was pleasantly surprised when Joe Kido came through the door, still dressed in his school uniform.

"Joe?" the siblings blinked at the older boy.

"What are you doing here?" Tai asked.

"Matt e-mailed me about what happened with Kagome and I wanted to check up on her," the blue-haired teen explained. "Mind if I have minute?"

"Yeah, no problem," Kari nodded, dragging a protesting Tai out the door.

"But my food!" The brown-haired teen whined as his youngest sister pulled him out of the room. "My delicious, precious stir-fry and salmon!"

"It's not running away from you so it's still be there when we go back in," Kari said patiently, not heeding to her brother's struggles.

"But—" Tai tried again.

"No buts," Kari cut him off.

The two teens in the room only sweat-dropped at the scene. _'He'll never change, will he?'_

"Checking up on me wasn't the only reason you came, was it?" Kagome asked when the door closed behind her brother and sister.

Joe smiled softly as he sat on the chair Tai had vacated. "Caught me. Besides checking up on you, I wanted to thank you; if you hadn't Seen that vision of Gomamon, I wouldn't have been as prepared as I was today."

"You're always prepared, Joe," Kagome shook her head. "You've always brought supplies and things that could be useful. Mimi told me about how you helped Ogremon with your rolls of toilet paper four years ago, you know."

"A little mediocre," Joe chuckled, flushing lightly, "But it got the job done. But seriously, I really did want to thank you; Gomamon wanted me to pass on his well wishes to you, too and a cheeky comment or two, but I don't really remember what they were right now… Anyway, when Matt told me about your vision and what happened to you, I panicked. I don't think I've ever said this to you, or I probably haven't said it enough, but in the time I've known you, you've become more than a friend and a lot like a little sister to me. So you can see why I was worried…"

"Joe…" Kagome trailed off. _'Okay, now I'm feeling really guilty!'_

He bent over and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Make sure to get lots of rest and don't stress out over anything, okay? But remember, if you ever need to talk, I'm here; heck, you have a lot of friends that are willing to listen!"

Kagome smiled and gave a nod. "Okay!"

Joe nodded. "Good, now if you don't mind, I should probably be getting home before my parents start throwing a fit."

"Bye!" Kagome grinned.

"See ya!" Joe winked.

* * *

For the rest of the week, Kagome rested up as promised while Tai brought her assignments to her from school, after which he would deliver them the next day to her teacher. Of course, that didn't mean that she slept or stayed in bed all day every day. The raven-haired girl kept herself occupied by going on her laptop and working on something or another. Unfortunately for her family, Kagome wasn't so forthcoming with exactly what she was doing.

However, it was on Sunday that Kagome's disposition brightened noticeably.

* * *

-Sunday; Kamiya Residence-

"You seem cheery today," Airi commented as she bustled around the kitchen, shooting glances at her daughter now and then.

"I guess I am," Kagome giggled giddily as she finished her breakfast.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Today instead of going around in another pair of pajamas like she had been while she was on bed rest, Kagome wore a pair of black-knee-length tights under a mid-thigh-length denim skirt with a fringed hem, and a grey tank-top under a thin plum-hued crop-jacket.

Her hair was pulled into a low ponytail that rested over her right shoulder.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"Why do I get the feeling that you know something's going to happen?" the older woman looked at her daughter, fist on her cocked hip.

"Because I do~!" Kagome sang.

"Any chance that you could tell me?" Airi asked.

"She'll be here any minute now," was all the raven-haired girl said.

_'She?'_ the older woman looked at her daughter curiously. _'A friend, maybe?'_

As if on cue, a knock sounded on the door.

Kagome squealed and dashed to open the door. Airi listened as the door opened and two loud squeals and a pair of giggles erupted.

"Kagome!" Airi called. "Who is it?"

Kagome came into the room with a pink-haired girl that seemed her age. "Mama, this is Mimi Tachikawa; she lived her in Odaiba before but moved away with her parents to America after that incident four years ago."

_'So she must have been one of the ones involved…'_ the older woman's eyes widened. She smiled at the girl. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mimi."

"It's very nice to meet you, too!" Mimi bowed in greeting.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

Mimi wore a pair of faded denim short-shorts and a red and white checkered button-down whose bottom was tied into a knot just above her bellybutton. There were several thin bracelets hanging from each hand and a pink messenger bag was slung across her body.

Her dyed hair was up in a high ponytail with two locks hanging down to frame her face.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"We'll just be in my room, Mama," Kagome said as she pulled her friend into the room she shared with her siblings.

"Teens," Airi chuckled.

**_The~Ninth~Child_**

"It's so great to see you after so long!" Mimi said as she hugged her friend once more.

"Definitely," Kagome agreed as she held onto the pink-haired girl just as tight.

"Hi, Kudamon," Mimi said when the two girls pulled away, "How've you been?"

"As well as I can be with Kagome determined to make me worry," Kudamon replied easily.

"Worry?" Mimi looked at the raven-haired girl. "Kagome…what haven't you been telling me?"

"Well," Kagome laughed nervously as she threw a small glare at her partner Digimon. "It's actually a funny story…"

"No it isn't!" Kudamon cut in. And with that, the fox-like Digimon spent the next ten minutes telling Mimi about what happened with the Digimon Emperor and Kagome's visions.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Mimi scolded her friend lightly.

"I really just didn't want to worry you," Kagome told the pink-haired girl. "Besides, there's not even a scar from what the brat did to me and I'm all better after those violent visions."

"Still, you'd better not leave things like that out again when you e-mail me," Mimi waved a finger in the raven-haired girl's face. She turned to Kudamon. "Kudamon, I'm putting you in charge of that; make sure that whenever Kagome e-mails me she writes down everything, and I mean _everything_. I don't want even one little detail missed, is that clear?"

"Crystal," Kudamon nodded.

"So do you have it?" Kagome asked.

Mimi's eyes lit up and nodded. She sat down next to Kagome on her bed and opened her messenger bag to take out a small disc. "It's perfect! I was a little scared of how it would turn out, but we did a great job in putting it together!"

"Well, your creativity had a hand in that," Kagome insisted.

"But it was you that made up the music," Mimi added.

"And I guess we both did the lyrics!" the girls chorused.

"So what about the cover design?" Kagome asked.

Mimi nodded and brought out a small sketch book. "I've been thinking about that and I've got a few ideas right here, but I'm not sure which one would be okay."

"Am I missing something?" Kudamon asked.

The girls looked at each other for a moment. "Do you promise not to say anything to anyone unless we give you permission?" Mimi asked.

The fox-like Digimon nodded.

"Well, after Mimi moved away we kept in close touch with each other any way we could," Kagome explained. "Skype and e-mailing were what we used the most, though."

"Then about two years ago," Mimi continued, "I got a small music file from Kagome. Izzy got her a really cool computer program installed onto laptop for her birthday. It turns out that the program was actually a music creator."

"So after Mimi listened to my sample track," Kagome picked up, "she created lyrics and recorded herself singing them to my music. She sent me the recording and I put the small bit together."

"We really didn't think much about what we were doing since we were having so much fun," Mimi added. "We kept doing it back and forth for a while; she'd make a track or two and would send over one for me and keep the other for herself while I do the same. We'd make up lyrics and sing to the tracks and then send them back and forth to each other so the other could listen. Little by little the tracks grew longer until we started doing full blown songs. Some of them we'd sing as a duet and others we'd sing solo."

"But how?" Kudamon asked. "Didn't anyone ever notice?"

"Well, Kagome would sign out a private room for herself in the library here and I'd do the same back home," Mimi replied, "that way, no one knew about what we were doing since those rooms are private and soundproof on the inside."

"I think after a few months, Mimi's father found out," Kagome spoke, "he wasn't mad about what we were doing in secret. Actually, he ended up listening to the disc Mimi made of the few songs we completed."

"But that's where Daddy's friend, Mr. Richards, comes in; he's involved with a small recording company," the pink-haired girl chimed in. "Daddy gave our CD to him by accident, but when he heard my CD, he practically ran my door down to ask Daddy who made the music. Of course, since the cat was about of the bag, I couldn't really hide it anymore so I told him everything."

"In the end we had to open a video-chat with me so we could all get everything settled," Kagome resumed. "I let Mama and Papa in on the secret and we all agreed that Mimi and I would keep doing what we were, but we'd only release CDs as an anonymous duet, mo more than that. Mr. Richards didn't like the sound of us staying so secretive about ourselves, but agreed anyway as long as we continued to make our music."

"So Kagome and I kept doing what we had been for the last few months," Mimi continued. "She'd make the music, and we'd both take turns writing lyrics. Kagome would ultimately put the entire thing together with our recorded voices, while I came up with ideas for the cover of our album."

"That was until I made sure to get Mimi the same music program I have," the raven-haired girl picked up, "And after teaching her how to use it, we both started making up our own tracks and the process just continued. We're actually getting around to releasing our second album this year."

"Our first was a hit!" Mimi squealed. "It didn't go as high as number one but it still ranked pretty high for a debut album especially when no one knew who we were!"

"But how are you advertising your music?" Kudamon asked. "And what exactly are you calling yourselves?"

"Well Kagome and I have a joint account on different websites where we've been posting our tracks sample and not; that's also where's we've been advertising our album. Well, that and the mystery of who we were added to people's curiosity," Mimi answered. "As for our name…"

"We're Mariposa!"

* * *

_Ciao,_

_TsukiyoTenshi_


End file.
